regret the Hard Usage which the Protestants meet with in other Countries and wish they were but as well treated there as the Roman-Catholicks are here Before I have done I beg leave to take notice of a Pamphlet that came out last Summer call'd Cursory Remarks upon the Proceedings of the Last Session of Parliament The Gentleman that wrote it had not only the Honesty to publish an Answer to his own Book but in that Answer to insinuate that I was the Author of it All the Use I shall make of this unusual Liberty of the Press is to declare That I have not publish'd any one Paper Pamphlet or Book these Six Years And though I have but little Leisure and yet less Inclination to appear again in Print yet if ever I alter my Resolution and publish any thing hereafter I will certainly put my Name to it as I have done to these Memoirs THE CONTENTS THE Excellencies of the English Constitution and the various Changes that have happen'd in it Page 1 The State of England under Queen Elizabeth 3 Her Character 5 The Character of her Ministers particularly of Walsingham Cecil c. and of the Members of the House of Commons in her time 8 Her Conduct towards Mary Queen of Scots 15 King James the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England under his Reign 19 His Character 20 The Character and Deathof Prince Henry 23 The Character of the Queen of Bohemia and King James's Conduct in the Business of the Palatinate 27 The Fate of Sir Walter Raleigh 28 King James's Conduct in teh Interdict of Venice 34 King Charles the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England at that time 37 The Breach betwixt Archbishop Abbot and Bishop Laud 38 The Rise of King Charles's Troubles and the first and second War with the Scots 41 The meeting of the Parliament November 1640. 45 The Fall and Character of Wentworth Earl of Strafford 47 The Fall and Character of Archbishop Laud 55 The Famous Petition and Remonstrance of the state of the Nation and the King's Answer 61 His coming to the House of Commons in Person to demand the Five Members and the Consequences of it 63 His Leaving the Parliament and the beginning of the Civil Wars and who began it 66 The Treaty of Uxbridge how unsuccesful and the Marquis of Montrose's fatal Letter the Cause 63 The Character and Fall of King Charles the First 74 His Opinion of Defensive Arms in the bisiness of Rochel 79 The Character of his Favourite Buckingham 84 The true Cause of the Scot's coming into England being a forg'd Letter 91 King Charles's design beâ—ore his Death to Resign the Crown And the Army 's to set up the Duke of Gloucester 98 His Consulting the Sortes Virgilianae 100 The Vsurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell 102 The Restoration of King Charles the Second and the Manner of it with Monk's part in it and the Risk Monk ran in Scotland 114 One of the true Causes of the Fall of Chancellor Clarendon 122 The discovery of the Popish Plot and its Consequences 123 The Bill of Exclusion the design of it and how manag'd 125 The Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth and the Consequences of it 131 The Protestant Plot and the Effects of it 133 The Death of King Charles the Second and the Suspicions about the Manner of it discuss'd 135 His Character 143 The Reign of King James the Second 148 The Advantages and Examples he might have maâ—e use of 150 His Brother's and Pope Innocent II.'s Advice to him 152 His first Speech to his Privy Council 153 His first Speech to his Parliament 156 His Second Memorable Speech to his Parliament 157 Two Letters from a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England upon the occasion of this Speech 159 Monmouth's Invasion and the Grounds of it 160 Some Passages out of Monmouth's Pocket-Book 166 Monmouth's Character 167 His Letter in his Retirement 169 King James's Speech to the Parliament upon Monmouth's Defeat 171 The Parliament's Address thereupon 173 The Sense of a Foreign Minister of this last Speech 175 The Advances made to the Subversion of the English Constitution 177 King James's Ambassy to Rome and how received 178 The Panegyricks of King James upon that occasion 182 The Manner how King James had been treated by another Pope in his Marriage with the Princess of Modena 187 King James grants a Toleration of Religion 191 He assumes a dispensing Power 194 He sets up an Ecclesiastical Commission 197 The Suspension of the Bishop of London 198 The Proceedings against Magdalen-College 201 His Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience 206 The Affair of the Seven Bishops 208 The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales 212 A new Parliament design'd and to what end 213 The Prince and Princess of Orange's Opinion about the Penal Laws and Test and how obtain'd 215 The Army Modell'd 220 The Methods us'd in Ireland and Tyrconel's Advancement 222 The Regulating of the Corporations and the Severities against the Protestants 228 The Act of Attainder there 232 The Interest that Foreign States had in England 234 The Emperor's Letter to King James 236 The Interest of the Prince of Orange 237 The bad Circumstances of the House of Orange at the Birth of the Present Prince of Orange now King of England 238 How he came to be Restored in Holland 240 The Desolation of Holland in 1672 242 The Reasons of that Desolation 244 The Difficulty the Prince of Orange had to grapple with 247 The Duke of Luxemburgh's Cruelties at Swammerdam 249 The Affair of Overall's Convocation and how resented by King James 255 His Letter to Dr. Abbot on that Occasion 257 ERRATA PAGE 62. Line 14 15. for the King's Answer to it at its delivery read Answer to them at their delivery MEMOIRS Of the most Material Transactions in England c. THERE is not a Natiâ—n in Europe that from the Constitution of its Government might have promis'd it self a more firm and lasting Repâ—se than England And yet scarce any Kingdom we know upon Earth has suffered so many and various Convulsions As if some malevolent Planet had over-rul'd one of the best of Human Constitutions and by an unaccountable Fatality had render'd ineffectual all the Endeavours of our Ancestors to make themselves and their Posterity happy under a Limited Monarchy A Monarchy in which the Prerogative of the Prince and the Liberty of the People are so equally temper'd that there seems nothing wanting that may tend to the Happiness of either The King of England has the Glory to Rule over a Free People The Excellency of the English Constitution and the People of England that of being subject to a Monarch who by the Laws of the Countrey is invested with as much Power and Greatness as a Wise and Beneficent Prince can reasonably wish for To compleat all the Crown of England has been for many Ages Hereditary and fix'd in
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
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
of England and from declaring those met at Westminster Rebels though the King again and again importun'd them to it and took their Refusal so ill that in one of his Letters to Queen intercepted at Naseby he reflects heavily upon them for it and calls them in derision his Mungrel Parliament It was likewise the dismal Prospect he had of this War even in the beginning of it that mov'd that Accomplish'd Gentleman the Lord Falkland to throw away his Life rather than be a witness of the Miseries were coming upon the Nation For though he was Secretary of State to the King and follow'd his Fortune yet seeing all his Endeavours for promoting a Peace were in vain he went on with a Party to skirmish with the Enemy the day before the first Battel of Newbury and being dissuaded by his Friends as having no Call to it being no Military Person he said He was weary of the Times and foresaw much Misery to his Countrey and hop'd he should be out of it e're night So pushing into the Battel he was slain Many Endeavours were us'd from time to time to bring Matters to an Accommodation by way of Treaty Endeavours that were us'd for an Accommodation but still some one unlucky Accident or another render'd them all abortive At the Treaty of Vxbridge though the Parliament's Demands were high and the King show'd a more than ordinary Aversion to comply with them yet the ill posture of the King's Affairs at that time and the fatal Consequences they fear'd would follow upon breaking off of the Treaty oblig'd a great many of the King's Friends and more particularly that Noble Person the Earl of Southampton who had gone Post from Vxbrige to Oxford for that purpose to press the King again and again upon their Knees to yield to the necessity of the Times and by giving his Assent to some of the most material Propositions that were sent him to settle a lasting Peace with his People The King was at last prevail'd with to follow their Counsel and the next Morning was appointed for signing a Warrant to his Commissioners to the effect And so sure were they of a happy end of all differences that the King at Supper complaining his Wine was not good one told him merrily He hop'd that his Majesty would dâ—ink better before a Week was over at Guildhall with the Lord Mayor But so it was that when they came early next morning to wait upon him with the Warrant that had been agreed upon over Night they found his Majesty had chang'd his Resolution and was become inflexible in these Points The unhappy Occasion this Alteration has lain hitherto a Secret in History and might have continued such still if a Letter from the Marquess of Montross in Scotland Montross's Fatal Letter whereof I have seen a Copy under the Duke of Richmond's Hand did not give a sufficient Light into it To make the Matter better understood it 's necessary to say something of Montross and his Actions in Scotland This Nobleman had been at first very active and zealous for the Liberties of his Countrey and was the first man that past the River Tweed at the Head of Five hundred Horse upon the Scots First Expedition into England But being afterwards disoblig'd or as some say repenting of his former Error he left that Side and came in to the King at the breaking out of the War between Him and the Parliament When the Scots came into England the second time to assist the Parliament Montross apply'd himself to the King for a Commission to levy War against his Rebel Subjâ—cts as they were call'd of Scotland assuring his Majesty he was able with the Assistance of his Friends and Concurrence of the rest of the Royal Party to make at least a very considerable Diversion if not to reduce the whole Countrey to his Majesty's Obedience Accordingly the Marquess was made Governor of Scotland where in the space of five Months with a handful of raw undisciplin'd Men and those not half arm'd he did over-run a great part of the Countrey and gain'd three very considerable Battels the last of which was that of Inverlochy fought the second of February 1644. according to the English and 1645. according to the Scotch Account In this Battel the Earl of Argyle was entirely defeated and the Prime of the Noble Family of the Campbells cut off with inconsiderable Loss on Montross's side who next day dispatch'd an Express to the King with the News of this and his two former Victories And in his Letter express'd his utter Aversion to all Treaties with his Rebel-Parliament in England as he calls them Tells the King he is heartily sorry to hear that his Majesty had consented to Treat and hopes it is not true Advises him not to enter into Terms with his Rebellious Subjects as being a thing unworthy of a King And assures him That he himself was now so much Master of Scotland that he doubted not but to be able within a few Months to march into England to his Majesty's assistance with a brave Army And concludes with this odd Expression When I have conquer'd from Dan to Beersheba as I doubt not I shall very quickly I hope I may have then leave to say as David ' s General said to his Master Come thou lest this Countrey be call'd by my Name This Letter writ with such an Air of Assurance and by a Person that was thought capable to make good his Promises and the Matter contain'd in it suiting but too well with the King's Inclinations was unluckily deliver'd to the King but a few Hours before he was to have sign'd the Warrant before-mention'd and had as ill effects as the worst of King Charles's Enemies could have wish'd for it dash'd out in a moment all the Impressions his best Friends had been making upon him for a considerable time towards a full Settlement with his People It look'd as if there was some secret Fatality in this whole matter for it could hardly have been imagin'd that a Letter writ the Third of February in the furthermost North Corner of Britain should come so soon to Oxford considering the length of the Journey the badness of the Roads at that time of the Year especially through the Mountainous parts of Scotland together with the Parliament's and Scotch Armies and Garisons that were posted all along the Road And yet certain it is it came through all these Dangers and Inconveniences in very few days for it 's indors'd upon the Copy I have seen That it was deliver'd to the King during the Treaty of Vxbridge which every body knows began the 30 th of Ianuary and ended the 22 d of February And further it must have been deliver'd before the 19 th of February because King Charles takes notice of it in a Letter to the Queen of that Date found among others at Naseby where he says Though I leave News to others yet I cannot but tell
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
Restoration yet the bare Name of an English Parliament though but the Shadow of what formerly it was continued to be so Terrible abroad that neither France nor Spain durst venture to give King Charles the least Assistance to regain his Throne but on the contrary were oblig'd to treat him in a manner altogether unworthy of a Crown'd Head As appears by the following Instance at the Treaty of the Pyrenees The Behaviour of the French and Spaniards to K Charles II at 〈◊〉 Treaty of the Pyrences King Charles after having in vain sought a Sanctuary in France was necessitated to throw himself upon the Friendship of Spain He was at Brussels when he receiv'd the News of the Disposition that was in England to Restore him just at the time the Conferenâ—es were to begin between Cardinal Mazarine and Lewis de Haro the Two Plenipotentiaries of France and Spain in order to a General Peace This determin'd King Charles to take Post from Brussels through France to the Place of Treaty that he might in Person represent his Interests to these Two Ministers He judg'd the Spaniards had reason to be Enemies to the then Government in England for not only having taken Dunkirk and Iamaica from them and enterâ—d into a League with Portugal against them but for endeavouring all that was possible to persuade the French to continue the War Upon the other hand it was but reasonable to think that France could not be well pleas'd to see the English Master of such a Frontier Town as Dunkirk or that Mazarine the most Ambitious Man upon Earth would not be willing to raise his own Glory by espousing the Cause of an Exil'd Prince especially when there was so great probability of Success Notwithstanding all these plausible Appearances King Charles made this long Journey to no purpose It 's true Lewis de Haro receiv'd him with all possible Marks of Respect But the Cardinal positively denied him Access All he could be brought to after several Messages from the King was to allow the Duke of Ormond to talk to him upon the Road from St. Iean de Luz to the Place of Treaty as if it had been but an accidental Rencounter Ormond obtain'd nothing of the Cardinal but general and ambiguous Answers Till being press'd he told Ormond plainly That all his Master could do for his Cousin the King of England was to compassionate his Misfortunes as not being in a condition himself to break with the Government of England with which his Affairs oblig'd him to keep a good Correspondence Over and above this Neglect of Mazarine's King Charles had the Mortification to see Ambassador Lockhart receiv'd at the same time with the greatest Pomp and Splendor having the Cardinal's Coaches and Guards sent a day's Journey to receive him and the Cardinal giving him the Right Hand which was a Respect he denied the Ambassadors of Crown'd Heads Nor was Lewis de Haro kinder upon the matter to King Charles notwithstanding all his Civilities for having ask'd the Command of the Army in Flanders which the Prince of Conde was by the Treaty oblig'd to quit Don Lewis refus'd it All which will be a lasting Example to Posterity how little Trust is to be repos'd in Foreign Aid when a Prince comes to need it for recovering his Throne It were the highest Injustice to deny General Monk the greatest share of the Honour in Restoring King Charles II. Monk's part in the Restoration and yet it is a question whether his Design to do it was of so long standing as some have reported It 's probable he had not Thoughts that way till about the time that Richard Cromwell was depriv'd of the Government In which he was afterwards the more confirm'd upon the Army in England's setting up once more for themselves If he had really a form'd Intention at that time to bring back the King it must be confess'd he acted the part of a Politician much better than that of a Christian for he declar'd once again at that time for a Commonwealth without the King a Single Person or House of Lords and formally Renounc'd the Family of the Stuarts All which will appear by a Letter sign'd by him and his Officers to the Parliament upon Richard's Abdication and the Declaration it self Appendix Numb 11. mention'd at length in the Appendix It 's hardly to be imagin'd he had a mind to set up for himself as his Enemies have given out for he could not but see the whole Nation was returning apace to their Ancient Monarchical Principles and therefore he had little else to do but to comply a while with the Times till by declaring for a Free Parliament he pav'd the way for the King's Return It 's certain the People that then assum'd the Supreme Power were jealous of his Intentions and it was within an Ace he escap'd a Trap laid for him just at the time when he was ready to march from Scotland which would have inevitably ruin'd his Design if a mere Accident had not interven'd For Monk keeping his ordinary Residence at Dalkeith some four Miles on this side of Edinburgh the London Packet touch'd constantly there that the General might have his Letters before it reach'd Edinburgh The Committee of Safety being resolv'd to secure Monk dispatch'd secret Orders to Scotland by the ordinary Packet lest an Express might give suspicion and instead of directing the Label for Dalkeith as was usual it was order'd straight for Edinburgh It happenâ—d that one of Monk's Lifeguard met accidentally the Post turning out of the Road that led to Dalkeith and finding he had not touch'd there he brought him back notwithstanding the Label was directed otherwise Monk suspecting something open'd all the Letters that he found directed to the Officers of the Army among which there was one from the Committee of Safety to Colonel Thomas Wilks ordering him to use the most effectual speedy and secret way to secure the Person of General Monk and to send him up to London under a strong Guard in a Frigat that lay in Leith Road and then to take upâ—n him the Command of the Army till further Order Having taken out this and what other Letters he thought fit together with his own from the same Committee full of high Compliments and Expressions of Trust he sent away the Packet as it was directed But having communicated the matter to some of his particular Friends he gave Orders for a General Review of the Army to be made next morning at Edinburgh where he arrested Colonel Wilks and some other Officers he had reason to suspect and sent them Prisoners to the Castle filling up their Commissions with others of his own Creatures Monk in his March through England and after he came to London carried on the Thread of Dissimulation with wonderful dexterity till all things were fully ripe for throwing off the Mask and calling home the King As he was singularly happy in being the Chief Instrument of
depress'd by the Envy of his Uncle the higher he rose in the Affections of the People till the breaking out of what was call'd the Protestant Plot The Protestant Plot. overwhelm'd not only him but a whole Party with him This Plot was in some part a greater Mystery than the Popish Plot had been before and had more dismal Effects The shatter'd Remains of English Liberty were then attack'd on every side and some of the Noblest Blood in the Nation was offer'd up a Sacrifice to the Manes of Popish Martyrs and made to atone for the Bill of Exclusion Swearing came once more into Fashion and a New Evidence-Office was erected at Whitehall But whereas the Witnesses of the Popish Plot were brow-beaten and discourag'd those of the Protestant Plot were highly encourag'd and instead of Iudges and Iuries that might perhaps boggle at half-Evidence as it fell out in the Prosecution of the former care was taken in this to pick out such as should stick at nothing to serve a Turn It was by such Iudges and Iuries that the Lord Russel and Mr. Sidney fell and the cutting off those Two Noble Lives may be reckon'd among the first Triumphs of the Duke's Party in England It 's true King Charles seem'd inclin'd to pardon both the one and the other and the very day the Lord Russel was executed some Words escap'd him that show'd sufficiently his Irresolution in that matter But by this time he was too far gone to make a handsome Retreat on a sudden and there was observable ever after a sensible Change in his Temper for from an Easiness and Debonairness that was natural to him he came at length to treat men with Hard Names and upon some occasions to express a Severity in his Disposition that he had been ever averse to before The rest of that Reign was one continued Invasion upon the Rights of the People and the Nation seem'd unwilling now to contend for them any more King Charles notwithstanding his great Abilities and Fitness for business appear'd to be quite lull'd asleep with the Charms of a new swell'd-up Prerogative while some of our Neighbours were playing their Game to the Prejudice of England abroad and the Duke's Creatures were managing all things to their own mind at home Nature prevail'd upon King Charles at length and the shame of seeing himself impos'd upon by others far short of him in Parts and that the Court was anticipating his Death by their Addresses to his Brother as if he had been already King did help to awake him out of his Slumber and brought him to lay a Project for a mighty Change in the Affairs of England which probably might have made both him and the Nation happy If he had liv'd but a few Weeks longer Monmouth had been recall'd to Court the Duke of York had been sent beyond Sea and a New Parliament conven'd But what further was to follow must be buried with his Ashes there being nothing left us but bare Suspicions of what might have been This is certain his Death came opportunely for the Duke and in such a Manner and with such Circumstances as will be a Problem to Posterity whether he died a Natural Death or was hasten'd to his Grave by Treachery In so nice a Point as this is The Death of King 〈◊〉 II. it becomes one that would write Impartially to set down with the exactest Fidelity every thing of Moment of either side that may determine the Reader in his Judgment without venturing to give his own This Rule I have set to my self in laying down the following Particulars It 's confest The Suspicions about the Manner of it consider'd few Princes come to dye a sudden Death but the World is apt to attribute it to Foul Play especially if attended with unusual Circumstances in the Time and Manner of it King Charles had a healthful Constitution beyond most men and took great care to preserve it by Diet and Exercise which naturally promise a long Life And it was more extraordinary to see such a Man dye before Threescore than another in the Bloom of Youth Now if he died a Natural Death it 's agreed by all that it must have been an Apoplexy This Disease seizes all the Vital Faculties at once and yet for the most part does not only give some short Warnings of its Approach by unusual Affections of the Head but many times is occasion'd by some evident preceding Cause In King Charles's Case there appear'd no visible Cause either near or remote to which with any certainty of Reason his Disease could be ascrib'd and the Forerunners of it were rather to be found in the Stomach and Bowels than in the Head For after he was aâ—bed he was over-heard to groan most of the Night And both then and next Morning before he fell into the Fit he complain'd first of a heavy Oppression in his Stomach and about his Heart and afterwards of a sharp Pain in those Parts all which Symptoms had but little relation to an Apoplexy That Morning there appear'd to every body about him a Ghastliness and Paleness in his Looks And when he sat down to be shav'd just before the Fit took him he could not sit straight as he us'd to do but continued in a stooping Posture with his Hand upon his Stomach till the Fit came After he had been brought out of it by opening a Vein he complain'd of a Racking Pain in his Stomach and of no Indisposition any where else And during the whole Time of his Sickness and even when he seem'd most Insensible he was observ'd to lay his Hand for the most part upon his Stomach in a moaning Posture and continued so to his Death And so violent was the Pain that when all hopes were gone the Physicians were desir'd to use all their Art to procure him an Easy Death So much for the Distemper it self There remains some things to be taken notice of that fell out before and after his Death A few days before he was taken ill King Charles being in Company where the present Posture of Affairs was discours'd of there escap'd him some warm Expressions about the uneasy Circumstances he was plung'd into and the ill Measures had been given him And how in a certain particular Affair he was pleas'd to mention he had been abus'd Adding in some Passion That if he liv'd but a Month longer he would find a way to make himself easy for the rest of his Life This Passage was whisper'd abroad next day and the Rumour of recalling the Duke of Monmouth and sending away the Duke of York came to take Air about the same time Indeed all things were making ready to put the latter in execution and there is reason to believe the King had intimated as much to the Duke himself for some of his Richest Furniture was put up and his chief Servants order'd to be in a readiness to attend their Master upon an Hour's warning and
Error too late and found they had been us'd but as Tools to prevent the Dissenters from uniting with the Church of England whenever the common Danger should come to threaten both This Toleration could not subsist K. Iames grants a Toleration of Religion being contrary to the Establish'd Laws of the Realm unless a new Monster was introduc'd to give it life under the Name of a Dispensing Power When King Iames came to assume to himself this Power as his Prerogative and Right he unhindg'd the Constitution all at once for to Dispense with Laws already made is as much a part of the Legislature as the making of new ones And therefore in aarogating to himself such a Dispensing Power he invaded the very Essence of the English Constitution by which the Legislature is lodg'd in King Lords and Commons and every one of them has a Negative upon the other two Charles II. was the first King of England that ever aim'd at any thing like a Dispensing Power In the Year 1662. he was prevail'd upon for some Reasons of State to issue out a Proclamation dispensing with some few things that related to the Act of Vniformity but without the least regard to Roman-Catholicks And though in his Speech to the Parliament upon that occasion he did in a manner acknowledge that he had no such Power in saying That if the Dissenters would demean themselves peaceably and modestly he could heartily wish he had such a Power of Indulgence to use upon occasion Yet the Parliament was so jealous of this Innovation that they presented the King with an Address against the Proclamation and plainly told him That he had no Power to dispense with the Laws without an Act of Parliament King Charles made another Attempt of the like nature in the Year 1672 and in a Speech to Both Houses did mention his Declaration of Indulgence and acquainted them with the Reasons that induc'd him to it telling them withal how little the Roman Catholicks would be the better for it Upon which the House of Commons made an Address to him for recalling this Declaration Wherein they plainly told him That in claiming a Power to dispense with Penal Laws his Majesty had been very much misinform'd since no such Power was ever claim'd or exercis'd by any of his Predecessors and if it should be admitted might tend to the interrupting of the free course of the Laws and altering the Legislative Power which has always been acknowledg'd to reside in his Majesty and his Two Houses of Parliament King Charles was so far satisfied in the matter contain'd in this Address that he immediately thereupon cancell'd his Declaration of Indulgence and order'd the Seal to be torn off and acquainted both Houses That he had done so with this further Declaration which was enter'd upon Record in the House of Lords That it should never be drawn into Example or Consequence The next that attempted such a Dispensing Power though of a far larger Extent was King Iames as has been said And how any thing that look'd that way was relish'd by the House of Commons does appear by their Address against the Roman Catholick Officers which also has been mention'd It was not enough for King Iames to assume this Dispensing Power And assumes a dispensing Power and to act by it but such was the Misery and hard Fate of England that the Party about the King would hâ—ve had us believe That a Power in the King to dispense wiâ—h Laws was Law To maintain this Monstrous Position there were not only Mercenary Pens set a-work but a Set of Iudges found out that to their Eternal Reproach did all was possible for them to Compliment the King with the Liberties of their Countrey For these Gentlemen gave it for Law That the Laws of England are the King's Laws That therefore it 's an incident inseparable Prerogative of the Kings of England as of all other Sovereign Princes to dispense with all Penal Laws in particular Cases and upon particular necâ—ssary Reasons That of those Reasons and Necessities the King is the sole Iudge And which is a Consequent thereupon That this is not a Trust invested in or granted to the King but the Ancient Remains of the Sovereign Power of the Kings of England which never was yet taken from them nor can be Thus were we fallen under the greatest Misfortune that can possibly happen to a Nation To have our Laws and Constitution trampled upon under colour of Law And those very Men whose Office it was to support them became now the Betrayers of them to the Will of the Prince This mighty Point being gain'd or rather forc'd upon us the Roman-Catholicks were not wanting to make the best use of it for themselves The free and open Exercise of their Religion was set up every where and Jesuit Schools and Seminaries erected in the most considerable Towns The Church of England had now but a Precarious Title to the National Church and Romish Candidates had swallow'd up its Preferments and Dignities already in their Hopes Romish Bishops were publickly Consecrated in the Royal Chappel and dispatch'd down to exercise their Episcopal Function in their respective Diocesses Their Pastoral Letters directed to the Lay-Catholicks of England were openly dispers'd up and down and printed by the King 's own Printer with Publick License The Regular Clergy appear'd in their Habits in Whitehall and St. Iames's and made no scruple to tell the Protestants They hop'd in a little time to walk in Procession through Cheapside A mighty Harvest of New Converts was expected and that Labourers might not be wanting Shoals of Priests and Regulars were sent over from beyond Sea to reap it The only Step to Preferment was to be of the King's Religion And to preach against the Errors of Rome was the height of Disloyalty because forsooth it tended to alienate the Subjects Affections from the King An Order was directed to the Protestant Bishops about Preaching which was upon the matter forbidding them to defend their Religion in the Pulpit when it was at the same time attack'd by the Romish Priests with all the Vigor they were capable of both in their Sermons and Books This Order was taken from a Precdent in Queen Mary's time for the first Step she made to introduce Popery notwithstanding her Promises to the Gentlemen of Suffolk and Norfolk to the contrary upon their appearing first of any for her Interest upon the Death of her Brother was to issue out a Proclamation forbidding the Preaching upon controverted Points of Religion for fear it was said of raising Animosities among the people But notwithstanding this insnaring Letter of K. Iames's the Clergy of the Church of England were not wanting in their Duty For to their Immortal Honour they did more to vindicate the Doctrine of their own Church and expose the Errors of the Church of Rome both in their Sermons and Writings than ever had been done either at Home or Abroad since
might be more serviceable to his Majesty and the College Notwithstanding this humble and submissive Address King Iames signified his Pleasure to them That he expected to be obey'd Upon which the Fellows being oblig'd by the Statutes of their Society to which they were sworn not to delay the Election longer than such a day and Fermer being a Person they could not chuse without incurring the Sin of Perjury they proceeded to Election and chose Dr. Hough now Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry their President Hereupon the New President and Fellows were cited before the Ecclesiastical Commission for disobeying the King's Mandate And notwithstanding they made it appear by their Answer plac'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 19. That they could not comply with that Mandate without Breach of their Oath and that there was no room left for the King to dispense with that Oath because in the Oath it self they were sworn not to make use of any such Dispensation nor in any sort consent thereto Yet against all Law the Ecclesiastical Commissioners did by their Sentence deprive Dr. Hough of his Presidentship and suspended two of the Fellows from their Fellowships While the King at the same time Inhibited the College to elect or admit any person whatsoever into any Fellowship or any other Place or Office in the said College till his further Pleasure The Court finding by this time that Fermer was one of so profligate a Life that though he had promis'd to declare himself Roman-Catholick upon his Promotion to that place they began to be asham'd of him And therefore instead of insisting on the former Mandamus in his favour there was another granted in favour of Dr. Parker then Bishop of Oxford one of the Creatures of the Court and who they knew would stick at nothing to serve a Turn The Place of President being already in a Legal manner fill'd up by the Election of Dr. Hough which though it had not been yet the Bishop of Oxford was likewise incapable by the Statutes of the College of being elected The Fellows did humbly offer a very pathetick Petition to his Majesty mention'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 20. in which they set forth how inexpressible an Affliction it was to them to find themselves reduc'd to such an extremity that either they must disobey his Majesty's Commands contrary to their Inclinations and that constant course of Loyalty which they had ever shew'd hithertâ— upon all occasions or else break their Founders Statutes and deliberately perjure themselves Then they mention'd the Statutes and the Oaths that every one of them had taken at their Admission into their Fellowships and concluded with an humble Prayer to his Majesty To give them leave to lay their Case and Themselves at his Majesty's Royal Feet earnestly beseeching his Sacred Majesty to extend to them his humble Petitioners that Grace and Tenderness which he had vouchsaf'd to all his other Subjects All this Submission was in vain For the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by their final Decree and Sentence depriv'd and expell'd from their Fellowships all the Fellows of Magdalen College but Three that had complied with Breach of Oath being Twenty five in number And to push their Injustice yet further they did by another Sentence decree and declare That Dr. Hough who had been depriv'd before and the said Twenty five Fellows should be incapable of receiving or being admitted into any Ecclesiastical Dignity Benefice or Promotion And such of them who were not yet in Holy Orders they adjudg'd incapable of receiving or being admitted into the same Thus by a Decree of an Illegal Court were a Set of Worthy and Learned Men turn'd out of their Freeholds merely for not obeying an Arbitrary Command which was directly against their Consciences And thus was King Iames prevail'd with by a Headstrong Party to assume a Power not only to dispense with Laws but to make void Oaths The first Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was not thought a sufficient Stretch of Power The Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience and therefore King Iames issued out another of a much higher Strain in which the Roman-Catholicks were chiefly included and indeed it was for their sake alone it was granted To render the Church of England accessary to their own Ruin The Order of Council upon it there was an Order of Council made upon the latter commanding it to be read at the usual times of Divine Service in all Churches and Chappels throughout the Kingdom and ordering the Bishops to cause it to be sent and distributed throughout their several and respective Diocesses to be read accordingly The Clergy of the Church of England had reason to take it for the greatest Hardship and Oppression that could be put upon them to be commanded to read from their Pulpits a Declaration they knew to be against Law and which in its Nature and Design was levell'd against their own Interest and that of their Religion Some of them through Fear or Mistake and others to make their Court complied but the Generality refus'd to obey so unjust a Command The Romish Party had their Ends in it for their Refusal laid them open to the severe Lashes of the Ecclesiastical Commission and accordingly every one that had not read the Declaration in their Churches were order'd to be prosecuted before that inexorable Tribunal where they were infallibly to expect to be depriv'd And so most of the Benefices in England must have been made vacant for a new kind of Incumbents But the Scene chang'd before all this could be brought about For King Iames urg'd on by his Fate and by a restless Party about him came at this time to level a Blow against the Archbishop of Canterbury and Six of his Suffragan Bishops that awaken'd the People of England to shake off their Chains and implore Foreign Assistance to retrieve the dying Liberties of their Countrey These Seven Bishops being sensible The Affair of the Seven Bishops as most of the Nation was of what was originally aim'd at in these two Declarations for Liberty of Conscience did consult together about the humblest manner to lay before King Iames the Reasons why they could not comply with the Order of Council Having got leave to attend him they deliver'd to him with the greatest Submission a Petition in behalf of themselves and their absent Brethren and in the name of the Clergy of their respective Diocesses humbly representing That their unwillingness did not proceed from any want of Duty and Obedience to his Majesty nor from any want of due Tenderness to Dissenters in relation to whom they were willing to come to such a Temper as should be thought fit when that Matter should be consider'd in Parliament and Convocation But among a great many other Considerations from this especially Because That Declaration was founded upon such a Dispensing Power as had been often declar'd Illegal in Parliament and was a matter of
Attainder past in Parliament in order to which evey Member of the House of Commons return'd the Names of all such Protestant Gentlemen as liv'd near them or in the County or Borough for which he serv'd and if he was Stranger to any of them he sent to the Countrey for Information about them When this Bill was presented to the King for his Assent the Speaker of the House of Commons told him That many were attainted in that Act upon such Evidence as satisfied the House and the rest upon common Fame In this Act there were no fewer Attainted than Two Archbishops One Duke Seventeen Earls Seven Countesses Twenty eight Viscounts Two Viscountesses Seven Bishops Eighteen Barons Thirty three Baronets Fifty one Knights Eighty three Clergymen Two thousand one hundred eighty two Esquires and Gentlemen And all of them unheard declar'd and adjudg'd Traytors convicted and attainted of High Treason and adjudg'd to suffer the pains of Death and Forfeiture The famous Proscription of Rome during the last Triumvirate came not up in some respects to the Horror of this for there were condemn'd in this little Kingdom more than double the Number that were proscrib'd through the vast Bounds of the Roman Empire And to make this of Ireland yet the more terrible and to put the Persons Attainted out of a possibility of escaping the Act it self was conceal'd and no Protestant allow'd a Copy of it till Four Months after it was past Whereas in that of Rome the Names of the Persons proscrib'd were affix'd upon all the Publick Places of the City the very day the Proscription was concerted and thereby opportunity was given to many of the Noblest Families in Rome to preserve themselves by a speedy flight for better Times There remain'd but one Kingdom more for the Romish Party to act their Designs in and that was Scotland where they reap'd a full Harvest of their Hopes and there were scarce left the least Remains of Ancient Liberty in that Nation Their Miseries were summ'd up in one new-coin'd Word which was us'd in all the King's Declarations and serv'd to express to the full their Absolute Slavery which was this That his Subjects were oblig'd to obey him without Reserve A Word that the Princes of the East how Absolute soever they be did never yet pretend to in their Stile whatever they might in their Actions But I leave the Detail of the Encroachments that were made upon the Laws and Liberties of that Kingdom to others that may be thought more impartial as having suffer'd less in their Ruins While King Iames was thus push'd on by a headstrong Party The Interest that Foreign Princes and States had in England to enslave his Subjects the other Princes and States of Europe look'd on with quite different Sentiments according as their own Interests and Safety mov'd them The greater part did commiserate the Fate of these Three Kingdoms and wish'd for their Deliverance The Protestants saw with Regret that they themselves were within an immediate Prospect of losing the most considerable Support of their Religion and both they and the Roman-Catholicks were equally convinc'd that it was their common Interest to have England continue in a condition to be the Arbiter of Christendom especially at a time when they saw they most needed it On the other hand it was the Interest of another Prince that not only the King of England should be his Friend but the Kingdom of England should become inconsiderable abroad which it could not fail to be when enslav'd at home King Iames had been again and again sollicited not only by Protestant Princes but those of his own Religion to enter into other Measures for the common Safety of Europe at least not to contribute to its Ruin by espousing an Interest which they judg'd was opposite to it The Emperor among others had by his Ambassador made repeated Instances to him to this purpose but with no better Success than the rest as appears by a Letter he writ to him after his Abdication The Emperor's Letter to K. Iames in Latin printed at London 1689. which has been Printed in several Languages and was conceiv'd in Elegant Latin as all the Publick Dispatches of that Court are But all these Remonstrances had no weight with King Iames though they had this good effect in the end as to put those Princes and States upon such Measures as secur'd to them the Friendship of England in another way The Power of France was by this time become the Terror and Envy of the rest of Europe and that Crown had upon all sides extended its Conquests The Empire Spain and Holland seem'd to enjoy a precarious Peace while the common Enemy of the Christian Name was making War with the Emperor and the State of Venice and was once very near being Master of the Imperial Seat whereby he might have carried the War into the Bowels of Germany The main Strength of the Empire being turn'd against the Turks and that with various Success there was another War declar'd against the Emperor by France so that it came to be absolutely necessary for Spain and Holland to interpose not as Mediators for that they were not to hope for but as Allies and Partners in the War These last as well as the other Princes and States that lay nearest the Rhine were expos'd to the Mercy of a Prince whom they were not able to resist if England should look on as Neuters or take part against them the last of which they had reason to fear Thus it happen'd that the Fortune of England and that of the greatest part of Christendom came to be link'd together and their common Liberties must of necessity have undergone one and the same Fate The latter from a Natural Principle of Self-Preservation were resolv'd to make their last Effort to break the Fetters which they saw were ready to be impos'd upon them And the other animated by the Example of their Ancestors and the Constitution of their Countrey which is diametrically opposite to Tyranny were resolv'd to venture All to retrieve themselves and their Posterity from the Chains that were already put upon them Both the one and the others might have struggled in vain to this day with the Ruin that threaten'd them The Interest the Prince of Orange had in England if Heaven in pity to their Condition had not provided in the Person of the Prince of Orange the only Sanctuary that was left them to shelter their sinking State This Prince by his Mother was a Nephew of England and in Right of the Princess his Wife the Presumptive Heir of the Crown By his Father's side he was Heir of an Illustrious Family that had eterniz'd their Name by delivering their Countrey from Slavery and laying the Foundation of a mighty Commonwealth which has since prov'd the greatest Bulwark of the Protestant Religion and the chief Support of the Liberty of Christendom A Family born for the good of Mankind to
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
Author Notwithstanding these Difficulties and Discouragements that seem'd insuperable wonderful and surprizing were the Consequences of the Prince of Orange's Restoration As if that Family alone were design'd of Heaven to be the Founder and Restorer of Holland It fell out that immediately upon his being call'd to the Helm the whole Scene of their Affairs chang'd to the better At the Head of a small ill-disciplin'd Army discourag'd by continual Losses he not only put a Stop to the French Conquests but by taking first Naerden in spite of an Army near four times greater than his own and carrying afterwards the War out of his own Countrey he oblig'd the Enemy to abandon their Conquests in Holland as fast as they had gain'd them and be contented to retire to the Defence of their own Frontiers This War was attended with various Successes on all sides and most of the Princes of Europe came to be some way or other engag'd in it till at last it ended in the Treaty of Nimeguen The part King Charles acted in all these Transactions contributed but little to his Glory for he had been unsuccessful while he was engag'd in the War and when he came to be a Mediator for the Peace all Parties grew jealous of him and neglected him It was during the Course of this War as has been said before that King Charles aton'd for all the Errors of his Reign by marrying his Niece the Lady Mary to the Prince of Orange And whatever were the Motives that induc'd him to comply in this with the Universal Wishes of his People it has been found since that not only England but the greatest part of Europe do share at this day in the Blessings that have attended it By this Match the Prince of Orange had a double Interest in England both as a Prince of the Blood himself and in Right of his Princess the next Presumptive Heir He liv'd with King Charles in as much Friendship as was possible for one that would not enter into an Interest separate from that of his Country or of England Insomuch that in all the Endeavours that were made to exclude the Duke of York from the Crown he look'd on without espousing any of the Parties that struggled for or against the Bill of Exclusion though he knew it was design'd that He and the Princess should succeed upon the Death of King Charles When King Iames came to the Throne the Prince of Orange tried all possible means to cultivate a sincere Friendship with him and to persuade him to enter into such Measures as might tend to the Common Safety of Europe and the Happiness of England which if King Iames had given Ear to would have preserv'd the Crown upon his Head And so cautious was he of giving him no reasonable ground of Complaint that though in King Charles's time he had given a Generous Welcome to the Duke of Monmouth at the Request of that King upon his retiring to Holland Yet as soon as he knew that that unhappy Gentleman designâ—d to invade England upon King Iames's Accession to the Throne he offer'd to come over in Person to his Assistance and sent him with all Expedition the English and Scotch Troops that were in the Service of the States It had been happy for King Iames if he had complied with the Advice of the Prince of Orange or had not by his Success against Monmouth been push'd on to make the Steps that have bee mention'd together with a great many more for Brevity's sake here omitted towards his own Ruin and that of the Constitution of England But being flatter'd with the gaudy Charms of Absolute Power and the empty Merit of Restoring the Romish Religion he drove on without Controul till at last he forc'd the People of England upon an inevitable necessity of calling in the Prince of Orange to retrieve the expiring Liberties of their Countrey At the same time an indissoluble Friendship and Alliance which King Iames had enter'd into when Duke of York and had cultivated afterwards when he came to the Crown was a matter of that vast Consequence to the Neighbouring Princes and States as would not permit them to stand by as unconcern'd Spectators of the Scene that was acting in England but oblig'd them likewise to save recourse to the Prince of Orange for breaking off their own Fetters by breaking first those of England But by what Steps and concurring Accidents and with what surprizing Circumstances this Mighty Design came about may some time or other though perhaps not so properly in this Age be the Subject of a Second Part when it meets with one of more Leisure and Capacity to write it FINIS Addenda ad Page 36. Concerning the Reign of King James I. It may not be impertinent in this place to say something of that Convocation that was held in the beginning of this King's Reign Which had never been taken notice of in History if it were not for the use that was made of it in our late Debates about the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his present Majesty This Convocation goes under the name of Overall's Convocation and has been of late years often mentioned in Print upon that account And since a very Learned Divine has told us upon a solemn Occasion Dr. Sherlock That it was the Canons of this Convocation that first Enlightned his Eyes and persuaded him of the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his Majesty I shall only take notice of a few things about them It 's very probable that this Convocation was call'd to clear some Doubts that King Iames might have had about the Lawfulness of the Hollanders the 〈…〉 off the Monarchy of Spain 〈…〉 withdrawing for good and all their Allegiance to that Crown Which was the Great Matter then in Agitation in most Courts of Christendom It appears plainly by some of those Canons that the Highflown Notions of Prerogative and Absolute Obedience which came afterwards into fashion were not much known at that time at least the Clergy were not of that Opinion It 's true This was the first time that the Distinction of a King de jure and de facto was ever mention'd as a Point of Divinity or a Doctrine of the Church though it had been taken notice of before and that but once as a Matter of Law in an Act of Parliament of Henry 7. But these Canons did never receive the Royal Approbation and therefore are in the same case as if they had never been King Iames thought these Points too nice to be much touch'd upon and was highly displeas'd with the Members of that Convocation for medling in Matters which he thought were without their Sphere Thereupon he writ that angry Letter to Dr. Abbot afterwards Bishop of Sarum the Original of which it was my fortune to fall upon and to publish upon another Occasion It 's hop'd the Reader will not be displeas'd to read it again And it runs thus Good Doctor Abbot I Cannot abstain
a mind to do you good but you must not expect a Monopoly of my Favours I have other Subjects to show my Bounty to and I will give and take back again when and as often as I please If you pretend to command here I 'll find ways to humble you I know of no Master but I will make you know there is a Mistress And take care upon your peril that no hurt be done Bower for I 'll make you answer for him The Misfortune of the Earl of Essex every body knows Though otherways a brave Gentleman and endow'd with excellent Qualities yet he valued himself too much upon the Queen's Favour which together with the Contrivances of his Enemies hurried him on to Courses that in the end lost him his Head A Monarch supported with a Burleigh a Walsingham a Salisbury for the Cabinet a Nottingham a Drake a Raleigh for War with a great many others equally fit for both could scarce fail of being great and fortunate nor can any thing reflect more Lustre upon her Wisdom than her choice of such men Walsingham was a Pattern for all Statesmen to copy after The Character of Sir Francis Walsingham By his Vigilance and Address he preserv'd his Mistress's Crown and Life from daily Attempts and Conspiracies against her and by a refin'd piece of Policy defeated for a whole Year together the Measures Spain had taken for fitting out their Armado to Invade England The vast Preparations that were making for a considerable time in Spain kept all Europe in suspense and it was not certain against whom they were design'd though it was the general Opinion they were to subdue the Netherlands all at once which Spain was sensibâ—e could not be done without a greater Force by Sea as well as Land than had been hitherto employ'd for that Service Queen Elizabeth thought fit to be upon her Guard and had some Jealousies that she might be aim'd at but how to find it out was the difficulty which at length Walsingham overcame He had Intelligence from Madrid That Philip had told his Council that he had dispatch'd an Express to Rome with a Letter writ with his own Hand to the Pope acquainting him with the true Design of his Preparations and asking his Blessing upon it which for some Reasons he would not yet disclose to them till the return of the Courier The Secret being thus lodg'd with the Pope Walsingham by the Means of a Venetian Priest retain'd at Rome as his Spy got a Copy of the Original Letter which was stolen out of the Pope's Cabinet by a Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber who took the Keys out of the Pope's Pocket while he slept How upon this Intelligence Walsingham found a way to retard the Spanish Invasion for a whole Year by getting the Spanish Bills protested at Genoa which should have supplied them with Money to carry on their Preparations being properly a Mercantile Affair is needless here to mention I shall only give one Instance more of Walsingham's dexterity in employing and instructing his Spies how to get him Intelligence of the most secret Affairs of Princes The Court of Queen Elizabeth had reason to have an Eye upon the King of Scots as being the next Heir to the Crown and who they knew was courted with all possible Insinuations into the French Interest In order to fathom King Iames's Intentions there was one Wigmore sent to Scotland who pretending to be disoblig'd in England fled thither for Protection Sir Francis Walsingham gives him above Ten Sheets of Paper of Instructions all writ with his own Hand which I have read in the Cotton Library so distinct and so digested as a Man of far inferior parts to Wigmore could hardly fail to be a Master in his Trade In these Papers he instructs him how to find out King James ' s Natural Temper his Morals his Religion his Opinion of Marriage his Inclinations to Queen Elizabeth to France to Spain to the Hollanders and in short to all his Neighbours He likewise directs him how to behave himself towards the King At Table when a Hunting upon his receiving good or bad News at his going to Bed and indeed in all the Publick and Private Scenes of his Life Walsingham was not mistaken in his Man for though there past a constant Correspondence betwixt them Wigmore liv'd in the greatest Favour and Familiarity with King Iames for Nine or Ten Years together without the least Suspicion of his being a Spy Walsingham also laid the Foundation of the Civil Wars in France and the Low Countries which put a final stop to the vast Designs of the House of Austria Upon which occasion he told the Queen at his Return from his Embassy to France That she had no reason to fear the Spaniard for though he had a strong Appetite and a good Digestion he had given him such a Bone to pick as would take him up Twenty Years at least and break his Teeth at last So her Majesty had no more to do but to throw into the Fire he had kindled some English Fuel from time to time to keep it burning This Great Man after all the Services he had perform'd for his Queen and Countrey gave a remarkable Proof at his Death how far he had preâ—err'd the Publick Interest to his own for he died so poor that his Friends were oblig'd to bury him privately in the Night for fear his Body should be arrested for Debt A Fault which few Statesmen since his time have been guilty of Such Ministers also for Capacity and Application were Cecil Lord Burleigh and his Son the Earl of Salisbury the Inheritor of his Father's great Qualities and Places How refin'd a Politician he was and how throughly acquainted with the most secret Designs of Foreign Courts cannot be better express'd than in the words of the same Nauntwell Appendix Numb 2. to which the Reader is referr'd But to return to Queen Elizabeth It appears by her whole Conduct she had no Inclination to Marriage being loth to share her Power with any other It 's true she seem'd sometimes to give Ear to Propositions that were made her by several Princes but this was done either to gain time or manage their Friendship to her own Ends. When the Parliament address'd her to Marry she handsomly excus'd her self in a Pathetick Speech concluding with this Expression To me said she it shall be a full satisfaction â—oth for the Memorial of my Name and for my Glory also if when I shall let my last Breath it be engraven upon my Marble Tomb Here lies Elizabeth who reign'd a Virgin and dy'd one The whole Speech is of so Noble a Strain Appendix Numb 3. that it deserves a place in the Appendix She was very sparing of Honours insomuch that Sir Francis Walsingham had been employ'd in several Embassies and other Matters of State for many Years before she could be prevail'd with to make him a Knight notwithstanding it appears that
he frequently ask'd it and particularly in a Printed Letter of his to Cecil The Honour of Knighthood though often prostituted since was in so great Esteem in her Reign that a Gentleman of Lincolnshire having rais'd Three hundred men for her Service at Tilbury Camp upon his own Interest told his Wife at parting That he hop'd thereby to deserve the Queen's Favour so far as that she should be a Lady at his Return She had a particular Friendship for Henry the Fourth of France and to her in a great measure he ow'd his Crown She never laid any thing more to heart than his changing his Religion And it was a long time before she could be brought to believe it But when she receiv'd the Account of it from himself all her Constancy fail'd her and in the Agony of her Grief snatching a Pen she writ him a short Expostulatory Letter worthy of her self Appendix Numb 4. and of that melancholy occasion which is related in the Appendix This her Grief says her Historian she sought to allay by reading the Sacred Scriptures and the Writings of the Fathers and even the Books of Philosophers translating about that time for an Amusement Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae into Elegant English The only Action that seems to reflect upon her Memory was the Death of Mary Queen of Scots The Affair of Mary Stuart Q. of Scots There had been an Emulation betwixt them of a long standing occasioned at first by the latter's assuming the Arms and Title of Queen of England which it 's no wonder Queen Elizabeth highly resented A great many other Accidents did contribute to alienate their Affections But when it fell out that every day produc'd some new Conspiracy against the Life of Queen Elizabeth and that in most of them the Queen of Scots was concern'd either as a Party or the Occasion Queen Elizabeth was put upon a fatal Necessity of either taking off the Queen of Scots or exposing her own Person to the frequent Attempts of her Enemies With what Reluctancy Queen Elizabeth was brought to consent to her Death and how she was deceiv'd at last in Signing the Warrant for her Execution by the over diligence of her Secretary and Privy-Council Cambden her Celebrated Historian has given us a very full and impartial Account Yet Queen Elizabeth is not altogether excusable in this matter for Queen Mary came into England upon a Promise made her long before Queen Elizabeth sent her once a Ring and at the same time a Message That if at any time she wanted her Protection she might be assured of it and the Token betwixt them was Queen Mary's sending her back the same Ring That Unfortunate Princess seeing her Affairs desperate in Scotland dispatch'd a Letter to Queen Elizabeth with the Ring to put her in mind of her Promise but without waiting for an Answer she came into England the very next day They were both to be pitied the one for her Sufferings and the other for being the Cause of them And I have seen several Letters in the Cotton-Library of Queen Mary's Hand to Queen Elizabeth writ in the most moving Strain that could be most of them in French being the Language she did generally write in There was one particularly wherein she tells her That her long Imprisonment had brought her to a Dropsical Swelling in her Legs and other Diseases that for the Honour of her Sex she â—orbears to commit to Paper And concludes thus Your most Affectionate Sister and Cousin and the most miserable Princess that ever wore a Crown When such Letters as these had no influence upon Queen Elizabeth it may reasonably be concluded That nothing but Self-Preservation could oblige her to carry her Resentments so far as she did To sum up the Character of this Renowned Queen in a few words She found the Kingdom at her coming to the Throne in a most afflicted condition embroil'd on the one side with a Scotch and on the other with a French War the Crown overcharg'd with her Father's and Brother's Debts its Treasure exhausted the People distracted with different Opinions in Religion her self without Friends with a controverted Title and strengthen'd with no Alliance abroad After one of the longest Reigns that ever was she died in Peace leaving her Countrey Potent at Sea and Rich in People and Trade her Father's and her Brother's Debts paid the Crown without any Incumbrance a great Treasure in the Exchequer the Coin brought to a true Standard Religion settled upon a regular and lasting Basis her self having been admir'd and fear'd by all her Neighbouring Princes and her Friendship courted by Monarchs that had scarce ever before any further knowledge of England but the Name So that her Successor had good reason to say of her That she was one who in Wisdom and Felicity of Government surpass'd all Princes since the days of Augustus After all To the Reproach of those she had made great and happy she was but ill attended in her last Sickness and near her Death forsaken by all but three or four Persons every body making haste to adore the Rising Sun With Queen Elizabeth dy'd in a great part the Glory and Fortune of the English Nation and the succeeding Reigns serv'd only to render hers the more Ilustrious As she was far from invading the Liberties of her Subjects so she was careful to maintain and preserve her own just Prerogative nor did ever any Prince that sat upon the English Throne carry the true and essential parts of Royalty further But at the same time the whole Conduct of her Life plac'd her beyond the Suspicion of ever having sought Greatness for any other end than to make her People share with her in it It was not so with the Prince that succeeded her The Reign of K. Iames. He was the more fond of Prerogative because he had been kept short of it in his Native Country He grasp'd at an Immoderate Power but with an ill Grace and if we believe the Historians of that time with a design to make his People little If so he had his Wish for from his first Accession to the Crown the Reputation of England began sensibly to sink and Two Kingdoms which disunited had made each of them apart a considerable Figure in the World now when united under one King fell short of the Reputation which the least of them had in former Ages The latter Years of King Iames fill'd our Annals with little else but Misfortunes at home and abroad The Loss of the Palatinate and the Ruin of the Protestants in Bohemia through his Negligence the Trick that was put upon him by the House of Austria in the business of the Spanish Match and the continued Struggle betwixt him and his Parliament about Redress of Grievances were things that help'd on to lessen his Credit abroad and imbitter the Minds of his Subjects at home Repenting of these unlucky Measures too late King Iames went off
Sheets But to return to King Iames as he was equally happy and unhappy in his Children he was for the most part unhappy in his Favourites being oblig'd to abandon one upon the account of Overbury's Murther and coming to hate another the latter part of his Life as much as he had ever lov'd him before In order to obtain of the Emperor the Restoration of his Son-in-Law The Spanish Match he was wheedled into that Inglorious Counsel of sending the Prince into Spain for a Match that was either never design'd him or too late And it was more owing to Philip the Third's Generosity than to King Iames's Politicks that he ever saw England again To this Friendship with Spain he sacrific'd his own Honour with the Life of that Excellent Person Sir Walter Releigh This Gentleman after Fourteen Years Imprisonment in the Tower upon the account of a Mysterious Treason during which time he did oblige the World with one of the best Histories that ever was writ came to be set at liberty and was sent with an ample Commission which was judg'd by Lawyers equivalent to a Pardon to discover and take possession of new Countries and Mines in America He gave King Iames the Plan of his Design and of the Place he was to land at which prov'd the Ruin of that Enterprize for before he could get ready to sail from England the Court of Spain had a Copy of it which Sir Walter Raleigh found to his sad Experience was got to America before him and had thereby enabled the Spaniards to baffle the Attempt At his return to please the Spanish Ambassador who had got a mighty Ascendent over King Iames this last of Queen Elizabeth's Favourites lost his Head upon the former Sentence of Treason there being no other way to reach it All our Histories have mention'd at large the business of the Spanish Match K. Iames's Conduct in the business of the Palatinate but few or none King Iames's Conduct in that of the Palatinate which can hardly be express'd under a softer name than one continued Infatuation on his part The Account of this Matter is writ with the greatest Exactness though as favourably for King Iames as was possible by the Learned Spanhemius in his History of Lowyse Iuliane Electrice Palatine Daughter of William Prince of Orange and Mother to the King of Bohemia who out-liv'd her Son and was one of the greatest Paterns of Virtue that any Age has produc'd Referring the Reader to the Book it self I shall only mention a few things out of it To make this Book and the matter of the Palatinate better understood it 's to be remembred That the Elector after his Marriage with King Iames's Daughter was elected King of Bohemia as the most powerful Prince at that time of the Empire to oppose the House of Austria and protect the Liberty of that Kingdom He was scarce Crown'd but he lost both his New Kingdom and his Ancient Inheritance of the Palatinate by the Battel of Prague where his Army was entirely defeated and he himself forc'd to fly leaving Bohemia and the Palatinate both a Prey to the Emperor Though the Parliament of England was zealous to restore the Palatine Family by Force of Arms as the most effectual means to do it and had offer'd great Supplies to that purpose yet King Iames was so lull'd asleep with the Insinuations of Gundamor the Spanish Ambassador that he could be brought to no other Methods but those of Treaty While he was sending one Embassy after another to Vienna and Brussels the poor King of Bohemia seeing how little was to be expected from them ventur'd to try his Fortune once more in the Palatinate and with the Assistance of Count Mansfield and the Duke of Brunswick beat the Imperialists in several Rencounters and repossess'd himself of several Towns But when he was in a fair way to be Master of the Whole he was obliged to retire and disband his Army merely to please King Iames who was possess'd of this wild Notion That to lay down his Arms was the only way to get good Terms from the Emperor Upon which a Treaty was set a foot at Brussels where King Iames consented by way of Preliminary That his Son-in-Law should not only wave the Title of the King of Bohemia but that of Elector Palatine which had not hitherto been question'd and which the poor Prince was forc'd to comply with This Treaty after a great many other Mortifications put upon the Palatine Family and upon K. Iames himself was by a Contrivance of the Emperor transferr'd to Ratisbon and came to nothing at last as all the other Treaties had done But while the Imperialists were thus amusing King Iames with Terms of Accommodation and that the King of Bohemia had disarm'd himself to please his Father-in-Law Heidleburgh and all the other places he had recover'd before together with the rest of the Palatinate were all seiz'd by the Emperor except only Frankendale which continued to make a vigorous Resistance It would look like a Dream to imagine that King Iames should oblige his Son-in-Law to quit this place also the only one left him of his whole Countrey and that as the only effectual way to get back all the rest Yet it 's true he did so and that at the very time that the Emperor had actually transferr'd the Electoral Dignity from the Palatine Family to the House of Bavaria For Frankendale being a Town then of great Strength The business of Frankendale and the Spaniards lying expos'd to the daily Excursions of its Garison they found a way to trick King Iames out of it in this manner Gundomar represents to him That it being the only place left in the Palatinate it could not hold out much longer and that there was but one way to save it for his Son-in-Law which was To put it into the hands of the Governor of Flanders for some time till things might be brought to an Accommodation by the Treaty then on foot and if there should happen any Interruption in it then the Town should be render'd back to King Iames for the use of his Son-in-Law in the same Condition together with a free Passage for Fifteen hundred Foot and Two hundred Horse to take possession of it and Six Months Provisions King Iames being willing to do any thing rather than break with Spain agreed to this strange Proposition and Frankendale was deliver'd up to the Governor of Flanders for Fifteen Months under these Conditions But the Treaty being once more broke off and the time elaps'd when King Iames demanded that Frankendale should be restor'd it was told him That he might have the Town but by the Terms of the Agreement he was to have a Passage for his Troops through the Spanish Low-Countries but that there was no Article That he should have a Passage through any other Places that were in their possession in Germany And thus King Iames was once more
nothing short of Strafford or Falkland the Two most Celebrated Pens of that time As to his Religion he was Protestant and in the strictest sense of the Church of England and for the Divine Right of Episcopacy But his consenting personally to the total Abolition of that Order in Scotland does not well agree with this part of his Character especially considering his repeated Protestations at the Treaties of Vxbridge and Newport That he could not supersede it but for a time in England What his Opinion was about Subjects defending their Religion and Liberties by Force of Arms appear'd in the business of Rochell For though some would have had us believe of late That Defensive Arms were inconsistent with the Principles of the Church of England it 's hop'd they will not deny but King Charles I. understood the Doctrine and Principles of that Church as well as any other Person can pretend to do and yet its certain that in his Practice and Declarations he allow'd of the People of Rochell's vindicating their Religion and Liberties from the Encroachments made by their Sovereign and that by Force of Arms and assisted them in so doing King Charles did not only assist the Rochellers after the War was actually begun His assisting the Rochellers but we have reason to believe that he encourag'd them to it at first if we look into the Duke of Rhoan 's Memoirs and Apology where that Great Man acquaints the World in what manner he was brought into that War in these words as near as I can translate them from the Original When all our Privileges says he were violated and our Religion brought to Ruin and the City of Rochell in the greatest Danger I could see no possibility to escape but was upon the sad thoughts of submitting our selves to the Mercy of the King meaning Lewis the XIIIth Being in this desperate state there came a Gentleman to me from the King of England who told me from his Master That he seeing our Privileges were violated and our Religion in danger of being subverted had taken compassion on our Sufferings and thought himself oblig'd in Honour and Conscience to assist and protect us which he was resolv'd to do by employing all his Kingdoms and his own Person in so just a War Provided we would join our Arms with his and not enter into any Treaty with the King meaning the French King without him and for that effect he would make War against the French King both by Sea and Land Intreating me continues the Duke of Rhoan not to abandon my Party in so just and honourable a War And a little after in the same Apology he has these words I refer it to all the World if I can be justly call'd the Author of the Third War considering I was sollicited to it by the King of Great Britain But suppose there were no Credit to be given to the Duke of Rhoan whose Honour and Veracity even his very Enemies never call'd in question and suppose it were false which all the World knows to be true that King Charles did actually assist the Rochellers again and again against their Prince yet we have Authentick Accounts of several Speeches made by the Duke of Buckingham's Secretary to the Rochellers and of several Messages sent to them from the Duke in name of the King his Master all to the same purpose And likewise a Manifesto publish'd by him and sign'd with his own Hand dated Iuly 21. 1627. aboard the Admiral Ship in which he has this Expression No private Interest says he has oblig'd my Master to make War against the French King but merely the Defence of the Protestant Church My Master's design is the Re-establishment of the Church their Good is his Interest and their Contentment his End We have also Authentick Copies of the League betwixt King Charles and the People of Rochell in which there is this Expression That the Rochellers may be deliver'd from the Oppressions they groan under And to sum up all there were two Letters writ by King Charles with his own Hand to the Rochellers which are mention'd by Monsieur Mervault a Syndic of that Town and who was active in the whole matter and present during the whole Siege of which the Copies follow To the Mayor Sheriffs Peers and Burgesses of the City of Rochell Gentlemen BE not discouraged though my Fleet be return'd Hold out to the last for I am resolv'd that my whole Fleet shall perish rather than you be not reliev'd For this effect I have order'd It to return back to your Coasts and am sending several Ships to reinforce it With the Help of God the Success shall be happy for you At Westminster May 19. O. S. 1628. Your Good Friend CHARLES R. The other Letter directed as before runs thus Gentlemen I Have been very much troubled to hear that my Fleet was upon the point of returning home without obeying my Orders in supplying you with Provisions cost what it will I have commanded them to return to your Road and not to come away until you are supply'd or at least till they are reinforc'd which I have order'd to be done with all diligence Assure your selves That I shall never abandon you and that I shall employ the whole Power of my Kingdom for your deliverance until God assist me to obtain for you an assured Peace Given at our Palace of Westminster May 27. O. S. 1628. Your Good Friend CHARLES R. I have dwelt the longer upon this Subject because it is easy to draw a Parallel betwixt this Case of King Charles's assisting Subjects against their King in the Defence of their Religion and Liberties and that of another Prince's doing the same upon a late occasion But as the former had no other Right to interpose in the one but the common Interest of Religion so the other had over and above that the Right of a Prince of the Blood and the Interest of the Presumptive Heir of the Crown all which alter'd the Case greatly to the advantage of the latter King Charles was as unfortunate in this War with France as he was in all others he engag'd in The poor City of Rochell after a long and Cruel Siege amidst the Horrors of Famine and Death was at last forc'd to submit to the Will of the Conqueror and the loss of that Bulwark of the French Liberty was in some time follow'd by the total Ruin of the Protestant Interest in France The English Fleet lay within view of the Town when it was taken and which added to the Misfortune that mighty Dyke that had been rais'd at inestimable Charges to block up the Harbour fell down the very next day after the Surrender and open'd a Passage for the Fleet that came to relieve it when it was now too late During this War he lost his Favourite The Character of the D of Buckingham George Villiers Duke of Buckingham This Gentleman was one of the greatest Prodigies of Fortune that
than the King 's and with the more cheerfulness for by this time he had parted on ill terms with his Parliament and without obtaining a Supply While the King was advancing towards the North the Scots drew to their Borders and it was debated at several Councils of War where a Committee of Estates assisted Whether they should expect the King upon the Borders as they had done before or march into England and carry the War out of their own Countrey But they had taken no Resolution in the matter before the King was got as far as York In this nice Juncture there came a Gentleman to the English Border who sent a Message to the Earl of Rothes That he desir'd to acquaint him with a Matter of the greatest Importance and Secresy if he might privately and with safety speak with him alone Rothes thereupon sent a Trusty Servant with a Passport to conduct him to his Quarters where the Gentleman told him That he was directed particularly to him as a Person of great Honour and whom they could safely trust with a Message from several Great Men of England who were griev'd for the Ruin they foresaw must necessarily attend their Country if the King should make himself Absolute Master of Scotland seeing after that they were to expect the same Fate considering how little to the King's satisfaction things had been carried in the Parliament of England and how much he had resented their refusing a Subsidy to carry on this War He told him That nothing was so much desir'd in England as a Free Parliament to redress their Grievances And if the Scots would march immediately into England the King must necessarily be straitned to that degree in his Affairs as to be oblig'd to call a Parliament And that upon their March the City of London and the greatest part of the Nobility and Gentry would not only petition the King for a Free Parliament but likewise mediate between the King and them and bring matters to such an Accommodation as might be for the good of both Nations Adding withal That if the Scots slipt this Opportunity they were never to expect the like again The Gentleman having deliver'd this Message gave the Earl a Letter directed to him and sign'd by about Twelve Noblemen much to the same purpose but writ more cautiously and in more general terms desiring him for a further Explanation to give entire Credit to the Bearer whom they had fully inform'd of their Intentions Rothes with the Gentleman's leave acquainted General Lesley afterwards Earl of Leven and one or two of the most Leading Men of the Committee of Estates with this Message and upon solemn Promises of Secrecy show'd them the Letter both which agreeing so well in the main with the Intelligence they had receiv'd from England and suiting with their own Inclinations determin'd them in the Point And next morning in the Council of War It was resolv'd to march into England that Afternoon which accordingly they did Rothes in the mean time dispatch'd back the Messenger with an Answer to the Noblemen he suppos'd had writ to him Thanking them for their Advice and acquainting them with the Resolution had been taken thereupon It fell out afterwards at the Treaty of Rippon when the English and Scotch Commissioners grew familiar with one another that the Earl of Rothes came from Newcastle to the Place of Treaty and one of the English Noblemen making him a Visit they fell into Discourse about the present Juncture of Affairs The English Nobleman express'd how much he had been surpriz'd upon the first News of the Scots entring into England and told him That though he hop'd it would now turn to the Advantage of both Nations yet it was in it self a dangerous and rash Attempt and might have been fatal to the Scots if the King had not been pleas'd to enter into a Treaty for an Accommodation of Matâ—ers in dispute between them Rothes was at a stand what to make of this Discourse considering this Nobleman was one of those whose Name was to the Letter formerly mention'd and therefore answer'd That he wondred his Lordship was surpriz'd at an Action he had so much influenc'd And that if it had not been for the Invitation of himself and his Friends perhaps the Scots â—rmy might have continued still on the other side of Tweed The Two Lords being equally in the dark as to one another's meaning were at length upon producing of the Letter both of them undeceiv'd and found it was a mere Forgery which was afterwards acknowledg'd by the Contriver who was the Lord Savile created some time after Earl of Sussex This Letter though forgotten now was much talk'd of during the Civil Wars And I have seen several Original Papers of those Times that mention'd it A Noble Lord lately dead whose Name was to the Letter never made any scruple of telling this Passage to his Friends in the manner I have related it And I once had a Copy of the Letter it self from the Original which was then and I believe is still among the Papers of the Noble Family of Rothes which I have since lost I must confess I have dwelt longer upon this matter than consists with the Brevity I intended and that it might have been more properly mention'd in another place Yet thus it was that a Counterfeit Invitation brought the Scots into England in the Year 1640. And considering the Consequences it may be said That Providence many times seems to play with Human Affairs and influences the Fate of Kingdoms by Counsels and Measures the most improbable to succeed if he had not design'd them to be subservient to his great Ends. There is an Historian for whom I have the highest Veneration Bishop of Salisbury's Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton who in his Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton mentions a Passage not unlike to this and perhaps it may be the very same though his Relation and mine differ in the time and some other Circumstances And seeing I happen'd to look into that Book some time after I had writ these Sheets that I may do Justice to its Reverend Author whose Information I am willing to believe may be better than my own though I had mine from no common Hands I shall give his Account of it in his own words and the rather for that I do not remember the Date of the Letter upon which the Passage turns though I do the main Design and Contents of it But that the Reader may not be wholly in the dark says this Great Historian about the Grounds of this Confidence the Covenanters had I shall set down what I had from some Persons of Great Honour who were fully inform'd about it When the Earls of Dumfermling and Loudon came to London a Person of Quality of the English Nation whose Name is suppress'd because of the Infamy of this Action came to them and with great Vehemence press'd them to engage in a new War
declare himself in his Life-time If he had any design of introducing Popery he knew the Temper of the Nation too well to imagine it could be brought about in a short time or by such open and barefac'd Methods as his Brother was pleas'd afterwards to put in practice But the truth is King Charles was neither Bigot enough to any Religion nor lov'd his Ease so little as to embark in a Business that must at least have disturb'd his Quiet if not hazarded his Crown The Romish Emissaries knowing this were resolv'd to make sure of one of the Brothers And the Duke was now the Rising Sun King Charles having no prospect of Issue by the Queen It was not the Roman-Catholiâ—ks alone that began to pay him their Early Devotions there were others that came nothing short of them in their Addresses to him He had in the time of his Banishment and after the Restoration acquir'd the Reputation of being Brave and skill'd in the Art of War Flanders and the Ocean were the Theatres on which he had given unquestionable Proofs of both having Commanded the Spanish Horse in the one and the English Fleet on the other From a Prince thus possess'd of a Warlike Character and thus devoted to the See of Rome it was no wonder the Roman Catholicks expected and the Protestants fear'd some extraordinary Change in England if ever he should come to wear the Crown And therefore as it was the Interest of the first to have him upon the Throne so it was equally the Interest of the latter to exclude him from it It 's said King Charles came in at first to the Bill of Exclusion or seem'd to do so The Favourite Mistress was prevail'd with from secret Motives and Prospects of her own to concur with others in persuading him to abandon his Brother and waving the Duke's Right to accept of an Act of Parliament in his own favour like that made in the Reign of Henry VIII by which he should have a Power invested in him to dispose of the Crown at his Death under such Restrictions and Limitations as should be agreed on Whether any such Act was really intended it 's hard to determine but it 's certain such an Offer was made to King Charles with a Promise of a considerable Sum of Money towards the supplying his pressing Wants It 's likewise certain that King Charles seem'd willing to accept of it till it happen'd that a Foreign Court whose Interest it was to support the Duke of York struck up a Bargain with the King to give him more Money for refusing than had been offer'd him for consenting to the Bill of Exclusion Some time before the Popish Plot came upon the Stage King Charles had been prevail'd with to Marry the Eldest of his Nieces to the Prince of Orange as he did afterwards the Youngest to the Prince of Denmark The happiest Actions of his Life and by which he made a sufficient Attonement for all the Errors of his Reign It were Ingratitude to enquire too narrowly into the Motives that induc'd him to these Matches It 's enough to entail a lasting Honour on his Name that he did it and did it against the Advice of his Brother and in spight of all the Sollicitations that were made to him from Abroad to marry them to Princes of the Romish Religion The Parliament had in their view the Princess of Orange in the Bill of Exclusion and it was She and the Prince her Husband that were to have fill'd the Throne upon the Death of their Uncle But King Charles either not daring or not willing to consent to the Bill he dissolv'd both that and the next Parliament at Oxford merely to ward off the Blow that threaten'd his Brother After the Dissolution of the Oxford Parliament King Charles shew'd but little Inclination to call any more and was prevail'd with to enter into harsher Measures than hitherto he had taken and which seem'd contrary to his Natural Goodness and Temper The Charters of the City of London and other Corporations stood in the way of an Absolute Government and it was resolv'd to break through this Barrier In order to which Quo Warranto's were brought against them and in progress of time they were either surrendred by the Corporations themselves or vacated in Westminster-Hall by a Set of Iudges pickt out for that purpose And it was resolv'd thereby to make one of the Estates of Parliament depend entirely upon the Will and Nomination of the Prince While these Quo Warranto's were going on whole Peals of Anathema's were rung out against those Patriots that had stood up for the Liberties of their Countrey in the preceding Parliaments And it was look'd upon as a Crime against the State for any one to regret the approaching Fate of his Countrey Even the Holy Scriptures themselves were made a Stale for Arbitrary Power and the Laws which were given to the Iews as they were a Political State were now brought in upon every occasion to countenance the Designs of the Court. As if those Laws which were intended only to support the Political Government of the Iews were the real Foundation of the Christian Religion or that the Constitution of England was founded upon the Iewish Doctrine All which was not much for the Honour of those Gentlemen that broach'd that Notion This was a Time never to be forgot when to wish well to our Countrey was a Crime and when Heaven it self was rank'd upon our Enemies side by some that pretended to expound its Will In some places a new kind of Funeral Harangues came in fashion Our Laws our Liberties our Parliaments our Native Rights were to be buried but instead of dropping a Tear at their Funeral fulsom Panegyricks were made upon their Murtherers and Curses denounc'd against those that would have retriev'd them from Destruction All these Transactions were attended with the Publick Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth The Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth and its Consequences This Gentleman stood possess'd of all the Qualities requisite to gain the Love of the People and stir up the Jealousy of the Duke of York King Charles had heap'd Honours upon him and nothing pleas'd him so much as to see him Great He had been sent to Scotland in the Year 1678 to suppress an Insurrection which the Severity of Lauderdale's Administration had occasion'd where his Lenity towards a People made by Oppression mad gain'd him the ill will of a Predominant Party at Court The Zeal he shew'd some time after in the prosecution of the Popish Plot and his Friendships with some that were profess'd Enemies to the Duke concurr'd to his Fall Yet King Charles still continued underhand the same Tenderness for him though he was declar'd in Publick to be in Disgrace The Duke's Faction at home and a Foreign Interest abroad were too powerful for King Charles to grapple with even though the Fortune of a Favourite Son was at stake The more he was
for levying that part of the Customs that had been granted to his Brother only for Life an◠was expir'd at his Death This was not only an open Violation of his Promise in his foremention'd Speech but of our Fundamental Constitution by which no Money can be levied on the Subject but by their Consent in Parliament As it was contrary to Law so it was altogether needless at that time since a Parliament was to meet within a few days which no body doubted would in a Parliamentary way continue the same Customs for his Life as they had been for his Brother's He was not the first Prince that did illegally seize what he had no right to But few Instances can be given of a King that did openly violate the Constitution of his Countrey to obtain that which he was certain would be granted him in a Legal Manner and with the Good-will of his People Notwithstanding this unusual Stretch of Power upon his entring into the Administration yet the Parliament he had call'd sat down in a good Humour and with a hearty Inclination to do every thing in compliance with him that might tend to his Honour or Safety His Speech to both Houses was much of the same Strain with his former to the Council upon his Brother's death but more full He demanded the setling of his Revenue during Life as it was in his Brother's time and acquainted them with the Earl of Argyle ' s Landing in Scotland and threaten'd to reward his Treason as it deserv'd This Speech buoy'd up the Minds of the People that had been sufficiently stunn'd before with the Unpresidented Proclamation for levying the Customs And so earnest was the Parliament to give the King no just occasion of Displeasure and so great a Confidence did they place in a Royal Promise from the Throne that they immediately complied with him in the matter of the Revenue thank'd him for his Speech and resolv'd by an Unanimous Vote To assist him with their Lives and Fortunes against the Earl of Argyle and all other his Enemies whatsoever Some few days after the Bill for setling his Revenue was presented to him for his Assent upon which Occasion he made them another Memorable Speech He thank'd them for the Bill told them of want of Stores in the Navy and Ordnance of the Anticipations that were upon several Branches of the Revenue of the Debts due to his Brother's Servants and Family which he said were such as deserv'd Compassion and of the extraordinary Charges he must be at in suppressing the Rebellion in Scotland Upon all which accounts he demanded an Extraordinary Supply and summ'd up all with recommending to them the Care of the Navy which he was pleas'd to call the Strength and Glory of the Nation And in the end told them He could not express his Concern upon that occasion more suitable to his own thoughts of it than by assuring them He had a true English Heart as jealous of the Honour of the Nation as Theirs could be And that he pleas'd himself with the Hopes Appendix Numb 12. His 〈◊〉 Speech to the Parliament That by God's Blessing and the Parliament's Assistance he might carry the Reputation of it higher in the World than ever it had been in the time of any of his Ancestors It was no wonder that a Speech of this Strain so becoming an English Monarch did meet with a kind Reception from an English Parliament and be answer'd as it was with a large Supply since a Neighbouring Court was thereupon at a stand what to think of a Prince they had reckon'd upon as their own and of whose real Friendship this unexpected Speech gave them ground to doubt They well knew that a true English Heart was diametrically opposite to their Designs and that a King jealous of the Honour of the English Nation must needs be an Enemy to all Encroachments of any Neighbouring State To plunge that Court yet the more into a Maze of Thoughts about King Iames upon this Occasion the carrying the Reputation of England yet higher in the World than ever it had been in the time of any of his Ancestors were Words that seem'd to promise no less than the imitating or rather out-doing of an Edward III. or a Henry V. that had rais'd to themselves immortal Trophies at the Expence of their Neighbours and wrote their own Panegyricks with their Enemies Blood How this Speech was relish'd abroad cannot be better express'd than in Two Letters writ at that time by a certain Great Minister to an Ambassador here which being communicated to me by a Noble Person into whose hands many of that Ambassador's Papers happen'd to fall upon the late Revolution they are plac'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 13. in English In the first of these Letters That Minister discovers a sort of diffidence in King Iames as if he were not the Man they had taken him for Expresses his Fears that a Cordial Agreement between him and the Parliament might unhindge all the Measures had been so long a concerting betwixt him and his Master when King James was but Duke of York He recommends to the Ambassador to enquire narrowly into the Motives and the Advisers of this Speech to the Parliament as the most considerable Service that could be done in that Juncture The other Letter chides the Ambassador for not being yet able to sound King James's Intentions and tells him They had receiv'd from a sure hand better News than what it appears the Ambassador had writ And which is most remarkable in the whole Letter there is in it a plain Insinuation That there was in that Court some great matter under consideration concerning the Edict of Nants which was not to be declar'd until King James's Intentions were fully known And concludes with a Command to the Ambassador to sift out how King James stood affected to the Prince of Orange What discoveries were made in obedience to these Letters can be no otherwise guess'd at but by the Event for at this very time the Unfortunate Duke of Monmouth by a desperate ill-tim'd Attempt to overturn King Iames's Throne did all that in him lay to fix it the faster King Charles as I have said lov'd Monmouth tenderly and all the Disgraces and Hardships that had of late Years been put upon him were rather the effects of Fear and Policy than Inclination or Choice He was fond of him to that degree that though he was the greatest Master in the Art of Dissimulation yet he could not refrain sometimes in Company where he might be free from regretting his own hard Fortune which necessitated him to frown upon a Son whose greatest Crime was to have incurr'd his Brother's Displeasure His Fondness was yet more express'd in his Behaviour to the Duke of Monmouth upon the Discovery of that which was call'd the Protestant Plot and in the manner he brought him back to Court after the Ferment was a little abated All the
partly guess'd by his Publick ones which were To Reconcile the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland to the Holy See from which they had for more than an Age fallen off by Heresy Innocent XI And slighted by the Pope receiv'd this Embassy as one that saw further than those who sent it The Ambassador had but a cold Reception of the Holy Father and none of the Cardinals but those of a particular Faction and the good-natur'd Cardinal of Norfolk took any further notice of it than Good Manners oblig'd them The Court of Rome were too refin'd Politicians to be impos'd upon with Show and Noise and knew the World too well to expect great Matters from such hasty ill-tim'd Advances as were made to them Not only so but Innocent having an Aversion in his Nature to a Faction he knew King Iames was embark'd in which he never took pains to dissemble was not over-fond of an Embassy from a Prince who was in an Interest he had long wish'd to see humbled King Iames met with nothing but Mortifications at Rome in the Person of his Ambassador which occasion'd his making as short a Stay as was possible In which may be seen the vast difference there was at that time betwixt the Politicks of Italy and those of a head-strong Party in England And however the World has been impos'd upon to believe that the Pope's Nuncio at the English Court who is since made a Cardinal was an Instrument to push on things to extremities yet certain it is he had too much good sense to approve of all the Measures that were taken and therefore desir'd often to be recall'd lest he should be thought to have a hand in them Although the Earl of Castlemain was pleas'd upon his Examination before the Parliament to say that his Embassy to Rome was only such as is between Two Temporal Princes about Compliment and Commerce yet Father Warner in his Manuscript History quoted by a Learned Author * Dr. Gee's Animadversions on the Iesuits Memorial for the Intended Reformation of England under the first Popish Prince London 1690. gives us another account of it in these words Things being thus setled says he within the Realm the next care his Majesty had was to unite his Countries to the Obedience of the Bishop of Rome and the Apostolick See which had been cut off by Heresy about an Age and a half before To try the Pope's Inclination In the Year 1685. he sent Mr. Carryl thither who succeeding according to his Wishes and being recall'd the Earl of Castlemain was sent the next Year as Extraordinary Ambassador to the Pope in the Name of the King and the Catholicks of England to make their Submission to the Holy See Castlemain had several Audiences of the Pope but to little purpose for whenever he began to talk of Business the Pope was seasonably attack'd with a Fit of Coughing which broke off the Ambassador's Discourse for that time and oblig'd him to retire These Audiences and Fits of Coughing continued from time to time while Castlemain continued at Rome and were the subject of diversion to all but a particular Faction at that Court. At length he was advis'd to come to Threats and to give out that he would be gone since he could not have an opportunity to treat with the Pope about the Business he came for Innocent was so little concern'd for the Ambassador's Resentment that when they told him of it he answer'd with his ordinary Coldness E bene se vuol andarsene ditegli adonque che si levi di buon matino al fresco e che a mezzo giorno si reposi per che in questi paesi non bisogna viaggiare al caldo del giorno Well! let him go and tell him It were fit he rise early in the Morning that he may rest himself at Noon for in this Countrey it 's dangerous to travel in the Heat of the Day In the end he was recall'd being able to obtain of the Pope two trifling Requests only that could hardly be denied to an ordinary Courier The one was a License for the Mareschal d' Humiers's Daughter to marry her Vncle Mercure Historick pour Iune 1687. And the other a Dispensation of the Statutes of the Iesuits Order to Father Peters to enjoy a Bishoprick The want of which says my Author was the reason that the Archbishoprick of York was kept so long vacant Though the Pope carried himself in this manner towards the English Ambassador The Jesuits Noble Entertainment of the English Ambassador at Rome yet the Iesuits paid him the highest Respect imaginable which did him no service with the Old Man for He and That Order were never hearty Friends They entertain'd him in their Seminary with the greatest Magnificence and nothing was wanting in Nature or Art to grace his Reception All their Stores of Sculpture Painting Poetry and Rhetorick seem to have been exhausted upon this Entertainment And though all the Inscriptions and Emblems did center upon the Triumph of the Romish Religion and the Ruin of Heresy in England yet Care was taken not to omit such particular Trophies and Devices as were adapted to their new-acquir'd Liberty of setting up their Publick Schools at London Among a great many other Panegyricks upon King Iames the following Distich was plac'd below an Emblem of England Restituit Veterem tibi Religionis honorem Anglia Magnanimi Regis aperta sides The open Zeal of this Magnanimous King has restor'd to England its Ancient Religion There was also this Inscription put round King Iames's Picture Potentissimo Religiosissimo Magnae Britanniae REGI JACOBO II. Generosâ Catholicae Fidei Confessione Regnum Auspicanti ET INNOCENTIO XI P. M. Per Legatum Nobilissimum Sapientissimum D. Rogerium Palmerium Comitem de Castelmain Obsequium deferenti Collegium Romanum Regia Virtutâ—m Insignia dedicat To the most Potent and most Religious JAMES the Second King of Great Britain beginning his Reign with the Generous Confession of the Catholick Faith AND Paying his Obedience to Pope INNOCENT XI By the most Noble and most Wise D. Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemain The Roman College Dedicates These Royal Emblems of his Virtues In the Great Hall the Ambassador was Harangued by the Rector of the College in a Latin Speech which to show the vain Hopes they had of King Iames and their own Fortune at that time is plac'd in the Appendix Appendix Numb 18. Nouveau Voyage d' Italie Edit 3. Tom. 2. Par Monsicur Misson with a Translation of it into English Referring the Reader for the rest of that Solemnity to an Ingenious Gentleman that was then upon the Place and has given a particular Account of it But yet it may not be amiss to mention what the same Gentleman tells us of a Device that related to King Iames's having a Son which was A Lilly from whose Leaves there distill'd some Drops of Water which as the Naturalists say
the Reformation and in such a Stile and with such an Inimitable Force of Reasoning as will be a Standard of Writing to succeeding Ages To hasten on the Project against the Establish'd Church a new Court of Inquisition was erected under the Name of a Commission for Ecclesiastical Affairs And to blind the people there were some Bishops of the Church of England nam'd Commissioners whereof one refus'd to act from the beginning and the other excus'd himself after he came to see where the Design of it was levell'd This Commission was another manifest Violation of the Laws and against an express Act of Parliament And as if that had not been enough to mortify the Church of England there were some Roman Catholicks appointed Commissioners and consequently the Enemies of the Protestant Religion were become the Judges and Directors of a Protestant Church in its Doctrine and Discipline These Commissioners thought fit to begin the Exercise of their New Power with the Suspension of Dr. Compton The Suspension of the Bishop of Londâ—n Bishop of London This Noble Prelate by a Conduct worthy of his Birth and Station in the Church had acquir'd the Love and Esteem of all the Protestant Churches at home and abroad and was for that reason the Mark of the Envy and Hatred of the Romish Party at Court They had waited for an occasion to enoble their Ecclesiastical Commission with such an Illustrious Sacrifice and such an occasion was rather taken than given in the Business of Dr. Sharp now Archbishop of York The Priests about the King knowing how much it was their Interest that the Protestant Clergy should not have leave to refute the Errors of the Church of Rome in their Sermons The Occasion of it had advis'd him to send to the Bishops the ensnaring Letter or Order before mention'd containing Directions about Preaâ—hers The Learned Dr. Sharp taking occasion in some of his Sermons to vindicate the Doctrine of the Church of England in opposition to Popery this was in the Court-Dialect understood to be the endeavouring to beget in the minds of his Hearers an ill opinion of the King and his Government by insinuating Fears and Iealousies to dispose them to Discontent and to lead them into Disobedience and Rebellion and consequently a Contempt of the said Order about Preachers Whereupon King Iames sent a Letter to the Bishop of London containing an Order to suspend Dr. Sharp from Preaching in any Parish-Church or Chappel in his Diocess until the Doctor had given Satisfaction and his Majesty's further Pleasure should be known The Bishop of London perceiving what was aim'd at in this Letter endeavour'd all that was possible to divert the Storm that threaten'd him and the Church of England through his sides He writ a Submissive Letter to the Secretary of State to be communicated to the King setting forth That he thought it his Duty to obey his Majesty in whatever Commands he laid upon him that he could perform with a safe Conscience But in this he was oblig'd to proceed according to Law and as a Iudge And by the Law no Iudge condemns a man before he has knowledge of the Cause and has cited the Party That however he had acquainted Dr. Sharp with his Majesty's Displeasure whom he found so ready to give all reasonable Satisfaction that he had made him the Bearer of that Letter Together with this Letter from the Bishop of London Dr. Sharp carried with him a Petition to the King in his own Name shewing That ever since his Majesty was pleas'd to give notice of his Displeasure against him he had forborn the Publick Exercise of his Function And as he had endeavour'd to do the best Service he could to his Majesty and his late Brother in his Station so he had not vented now in the Pulpit any thing tending to Faction or Schism And therefore prayed his Majesty would be pleas'd to lay aside his Displeasure conceiv'd against him and restore him to that Favour which the rest of the Clergy enjoy'd All this Submission was to no purpose Nothing would satisfy the Party but a Revenge upon the Bishop of London for his Exemplary Zeal for the Protestant Interest and this Affair of Dr. Sharp's was made use of as a handle to mortify him and in his Person the whole Body of the Clergy The Bishop was Cited before the Ecclesiastical Commission for not suspending Dr. Sharp according to the King's Order and treated by their Chair-man at his Appearance in a manner unworthy of his Station and Quality All the Defence he could make and his Plea to the Jurisdiction and Legality of the Court which was good beyond all contradiction did signify nothing These New Inquisitors being resolv'd to stick at nothing that might please the Party that set them at work did by their Definitive Sentence declare decree and pronounce That the Bishop of London should for his Disobedience and Contempt be suspended during his Majesty's Pleasure And accordingly was suspended with a peremptory Admonition To abstain from the Function and Execution of his Episcopal Office and other Ecclesiastical Iurisdictions during the said Suspension under the pain of Deprivation The Proceedings against the President and Fellows of Magdalene College and Removal from his Bishoprick The next that felt the weight of this Ecclesiastical Commission were the President and Fellows of St. Mary Magdalen's College in Oxford The two chief Seats of Learning the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge stood in the way of the Grand Design and the Party was impatient to get footing there Magdalen College is one of the Noblest Foundations that perhaps was ever erected to Learning in the World and therefore it was no wonder it was one of the first Marks that was shot at This Illustrious Society from repeated Grants of Kings ratified in Parliament and from their own Statutes was in an uninterrupted Possession of a Right to Elect their own President That Place being vacant by the Death of Dr. Clark a Day was appointed by the Vice-President and Fellows to proceed to the Election of another to fill up the Vacancy But before the day of Election came Charnock one of the Fellows who was since executed for the late Plot to Assassinate his present Majesty brought them a Mandate from King Iames to elect one Fermer into the Place a Man of an Ill Reputation who had promis'd to declare himself Roman Catholick and was altogether uncapable of the Office by the Statutes of the College This Mandate the Vice-President and Fellows receiv'd with all decent Respect and sent their humble Address to the King representing to his Majesty That Fermer was a Person in several respects incapable of that Office according to their Founders Statutes And therefore did earnestly beseech his Majesty either to leave them to the discharge of their Duty and Consciences according to his Majesty's late Gracious Declaration and their Founders Statutes or else to recommend to them such a Person who
so great moment and consequence to the whole Nation that they could not in Prudence Honour or Conscience so far make themselves Parties to it as the distribution of it all over the Kingdom and the solemn Publication of it even in Gods House and in the Time of his Divine Service must amount to in common and reasonable Construction Therefore did humbly and earnestly beseech his Majesty That he would be graciously pleas'd not to insist upon their Distributing and Reading the said Declaration This Petition tho the humblest that could be and deliver'd by Six of them to the King alone in his Closet was so highly resented that the Six Bishops that presented it and the Archbishop of Canterbury that writ it but was not present at its delivery were committed Prisoners to the Tower They were a few days after brought to the King-Bench Bar and Indicted of a High Misdemeanor for having falsly unlawfuly maliciously seditiously and scandalously fram'd compos'd and writ a false malicious pernicious and seditious Libel concerning the King and his Royal Declaration for Liberty of Conscience under the pretence of a Petition And that they had publish'd the same in presence of the King There was a great Appearance at this Trial and it was a Leading Case for upon it depended in a great measure the Fate of the rest of the Clergy of the Church of England It lasted long and in the end the Seven Bishops were Acquitted with the Acclamations of all but the Court-Party There were two things very remarkable in this Trial The Dispensing Power was learnedly and boldly argued against by the Counsel for the Bishops and demonstrated by invincible Arguments to be an open Violation of the Laws and Constitution of the Kingdom So that in one of the greatest Auditories that was ever seen in Westminster-Hall and upon hearing one of the most Solemn Causes that was ever Tried at the Kings-Bench-Bar King Iames had the Mortification to see his new-assum'd Prerogative baffled and its Illegality expos'd to the World The other thing observable upon this Trial was That the Tables were so far turn'd that some that had largely contributed to the Enslaving their Countrey with false Notions of Law were now of another Opinion While at the same time others that had stood up for the Liberty of their Countrey in two successive Parliaments and had suffer'd upon that account did now as much endeavour to stretch the Prerogative beyond its just Limits as they had oppos'd it before So hard it is for Mankind to be in all times and upon all turns constant to themselves The News of the Bishops being acquitted was receiv'd with the highest Expressions of Joy throughout the whole Kingdom Nor could the King 's own Presence prevent his Army that was then encamp'd at Hounslow-Heath from mixing their loud Acclamations with the rest This last Mortification might have prevented his Fate if his Ears had been open to any but a Hot Party that were positively resolv'd to push for all cost what it would And it was easily seen by the Soldiers Behaviour upon this occasion How impossible it is to debauch an English Army from their Love to their Countrey and their Religion While the Bishops were in the Tower the Roman-Catholicks had their Hope 's â—rown'd with the Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales The fears of a Protestant Successor had been the only Allay that render'd their Prosperity less perfect Now the happiness of having an Heir to the Crown to be bred up in their own Religion quash'd all those Fears and atonâ—d for the Uncertainty of the King's Life It was so much their Interest to have one and there were so many Circumstances that seem'd to render his Birth suspicious that the Nation in general were inclinable to believe that this was the last Effort of the Party to accomplish our Ruin All things seem'd now to conspire towards it A new Parliament design'd and to what End There was only a Parliament wanting to ratify and approve all the Illegal Steps that had been made which was to be done effectually by taking off the Penal Laws and Test the two chief Barriers of our Religion To obtain such a Parliament no Stone was left unturn'd nor no Threaâ—s nor Promises neglected Regulators were sent-down to every Corporation to model them to this end though a great part of their Work had been done to their hand for in most of the New Charters there had been such Regulations made and such sort of Men put in as was thought would make all sure But to be yet surer Closetting in fashion and to try the Inclinations of People Closetting came into fashion and King Iames was at pains to sound every man's mind how far he might depend upon him for his concurrence with those Designs If they did not readily promise to serve the King in his own way which was the distinguishing word at that time there was some Brand put upon them and they were turn'd out of Place if they had any Nor did King Iames think it below his Dignity after the Priests had fail'd to bring in New Converts to try himself how far his own Arguments might prevail and he Closetted men for that purpose too Some few of no Principles and a great many others of desperate Fortunes complimented him with their Religion and were generally thereupon put into Employments And so fond was the King of making Proselites at any rate that there were of the Scum of the People that pretended to turn Papists merely for the sake of a Weekly small Allowance which was regularly paid them It 's a question after all whether the Parliament which K. Iames was thus labouring to model would have answer'd his Expectation had they come to sit for mens eyes were open'd more and more every day and the Noble Principles of English Liberty began to kindle afresh in the Nation notwithstanding all the endeavours had been usâ—d of a long time to extinguish them Though the Dissenters who might be chosen into Parliament upon this new Model would probably have made Terms for themselves to prevent their falling under any future Persecution yet being as a verse to Popery as any others whatsoever it is not to be imagin'd that they would upon that Consideration have unhindg'd the Constitution of England to enable the Roman Catholicks to break in upon the Establish'd National Church which in the end must have inevitably ruin'd both it and themselves But there fell out a little before this time an Accident that help'd mightily to buoy up the sinking Spirits of the Nation and which was occasion'd by the forward Zeal of some about the King contrary to their Intentions While the Project was going on to take off the Penal Laws and Test and the Protestants were in a maze what to expect the good Genius of England and King Iamâ—s's ill Fate set him on to make a Trial of the
stand with Honour and Justice and are in a way of passing a Bill to give them satisfaction They have sought by many subtile practices to cause jealousies and divisions betwixt us and our brethren of Scotland by slandering their proceedings and intentions towards us and by secret endeavours to instigate and incense them and us one against another They have had such a party of Bishops and Popish Lords in the House of Peres as hath caused much opposition and delay in the prosecution of Delinquents hindred the proceeding of divers good Bills passed in the Commons house concerning the reformation of sundry great abuses and corruptions both in Church and State They have laboured to seduce and corrupt some of the Commons House to draw them into conspiracies and combinations against the liberty of the Parliament And by their instruments and agents they have attempted to disaffect and discontent his Majesties Army and to engage it for the maintainance of their wicked and traiterous designs the keeping up of Bishops in votes and functions and by force to compel the Parliament to order limit and dispose their proceedings in such manner as might best concur with the intentions of this dangerous and potent faction And when one mischeivous design and attempt of theirs to bring on the Army against the Parliament and the City of London had been discovered and prevented they presently undertook another of the same damnable nature with this addition to it to endeavour to make the Scotish Army neutral whilst the English Army which they had laboured to corrupt and invenome against us by their false and slanderous suggestions should execute their malice to the subversion of our Religion and the dissolution of our government Thus they have been continually practising to disturb the peace and plotting the destruction even of all the Kings Dominions and have employed their Emissaries and Agents in them all for the promoting of their divellish Designs which the vigilancy of those who were well affected hath still discovered and defeated before they were ripe for execution in England and Scotland only in Ireland which was farther off they have had time and opportunity to mould and prepare their work and had brought it to that perfection that they had possessed themselves of that whole Kingdom totally subverted the government of it rooted out Religion and destroyed all the Protestants whom the conscience of their duty to God their King and Country would not have permitted to â—oin with them if by Gods wonderful providence their main enterprise upon the City and Castle of Dublin had not been detected and prevented upon the very Eve before it should have been executed Notwithstanding they have in other parts of that Kingdom broken out into open Rebellion surprized Towns and Castles committed Murders Rapes and other Villanies and shaken off all bonds of obedience to his Majesty and the Laws of the Realm and in general have kindled such a fire as nothing but God's infinite blessing upon the wisdom and endeavours of this State will be able to quench it And certainly had not God in his great mercy unto this Land discovered and confounded their former designs we had been the Prologue to this Tragedy in Ireland and had by this time been made the lamentable spectacle of misery and confusion And now what hope have we but in God when as the only means of our subsistence and power of Reformation is under him in the Parliament but what can we the Commons without the conjuction of the House of Lords and what conjunction can we expect there when the Bishops and Recusant Lords are so numerous and prevalent that they are able to cross and interrupt our best endeavours for Reformation and by that means give advantage to this malignant party to traduce our proceedings They infuse into the People that we mean to abolish all Church-government and leave every man to his own fancy for the service and worship of God absolving him of that obedience which he owes under God unto his Majesty whom we know to be intrusted with the Ecclesiastical Law as well as with the Temporal to regulate all the Members of the Church of England by such rules of Order and Discipline as are established by Parliament which is his great Councel in all Affairs both in Church and State We confess our intention is and our endeavours have been to reduce within bounds that exorbitant power which the Prelates have assumed unto themselves so contrary both to the Word of God and to the Laws of the Land to which end we past the Bill for the removing them from their temporal power and employments that so the better they might with Meekness apply themselves to the discharge of their Functions which Bill themselves opposed and were the principal instruments of crossing it And we do here declare That it is far from our purpose or desire to let loose the Golden Reins of Discipline and Government in the Church to leave private persons or particular Congregations to take up what form of divine Service they please for we hold it requisite that there should be throughout the whole Realm a conformity to that Order which the Laws enjoyn according to the Word of God and we desire to unburthen the consciences of men of needless and superstitious Ceremonies suppress innovations and take away the monuments of Idolatry And the better to effect the intended Reformation we desire there may be a general Synod of the most grave pious learned and judicious Divines of this Island assisted with some from foreign parts professing the same Religion with us who may consider of all things necessary for the peace and good government of the Church and represent the results of their consultations unto the Parliament to be there allowed of and confirmed and receive the stamp of authority thereby to find passage and obedience throughout the Kingdom They have maliciously charged us that we intend to destroy and discourage Leâ—â—ning whereas it is our chiefest caâ—e and desire to advance it and to provide a competent maintenance for conscionable and preaching Ministers throughout the Kingdom which will be a great encouregement to Scholars and a certain means whereby the want meanness and ignorance to which a great part of the Clergy is now subject will be prevented And we intend likewise to reform and purge the Fountains of Learning the two Universities that the streams flowing from thence may be clear and pure and an honour and comfort to the whole Land They have strained to blast our proceedings in Parliament by wresting the Interpretations of our Orders from their genuine intention They tell the people that our medling with the power of Episcopacy hath caused Sectaries and Conventicles when Idolatry and Popish Ceremonies introduced into the Church by the command of the Bishops have not only debarred the people from thence but expelled them from the Kingdom Thus with Elijah we are called by this Malignant party the troublers of