them to their Duty by force of Arms. Both Houses show'd a Willingness to relieve the King's Wants and offer'd him a considerable Supply but with this Condition That their Grievances may be first redress'd which had swell'd up to a considerable Bulk since the last Dissolution Not only so but the Scots had Friends enough in the Parliament to hinder any great matter to be done against them and the greater part both of Lords and Commons were but little inclin'd to a War of Archbishop Laud's kindling The King being thus disappointed dissolv'd this Parliament as he had done the rest when they had scarce sat a Month and made what shifts he could to raise a new Army against the Scots They upon the other hand being resolv'd not to be behind in their Preparations enter'd into England with a numerous Army compos'd for the most part of Veteran Officers and Troops that had serv'd in Germany under Gustavus Adolphus and taking Berwick and Newcastle push'd their way as far as Durham King Charles came in Person to York and there found himself inviron'd with perplexing Difficulties on all hands The Nobility and Gentry that attended him express'd on all occasions their dislike of the Cause and the War they were engag'd in The Scots stood firm to their ground being flesh'd with Success And the King was follow'd from the South with Petitions from the City of London from several Counties and from a considerable Number of Lords desiring him to call a Parliament as the only effectual Means to quiet the Minds of the People and compose the present War without Bloodshed To extricate himself out of this Labyrinth King Charles summon'd the Great Council of Peers to meet at York to consult what was fit to be done in this Juncture who advis'd him unanimously to enter into a Treaty with the Scots at Rippon and to summon a Parliament to meet at Westminster with both which Advices the King comply'd and immediately issu'd out Writs for a Parliament to sit down in November 1640. and adjourn'd the Treaty with the Scots to London No Age ever produc'd Greater Men than those that sat in this Parliament They had sufficient Abilities and Inclinations to have render'd the â—â—ing and their Countrey happy if England had not been through a Chain of concurring Accidents ripen'd for destruction At their sitting down The Parliament 1641. a Scene of Grievances under which the Nation had long groan'd was laid open and all Topicks made use of to paint them out in liveliest Colours The many Cruelties and Illegal Practices of the Star-Chamber and High-Comission-Court that had alienated Peoples Minds from the Hierarchy were now insisted on to throw down those two Arbitrary Tribunals and with them in some time after the Bishops out of the House of Peers and at length Episcopacy it self out of the Church It was not a few of either House but indeed all the Great Patriots that concurr'd at first to make Enquiry into the Grievances of this Reign Sir Edward Hyde afterwards Earl of Clarendon and Lord Chancellor of England the Lord Digby the Lord Falkland the Lord Capell Mr. Grimstone who was chosen afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons that brought in King Charles the Second and was Master of the Rolls Mr. Hollis since Lord Hollis all which suffer'd afterwards on the King's side and in general most of those that took the King's part in the succeeding War were the Men that appear'd with the greatest Zeal for the Redress of Grievances and made the sharpest Speeches upon those Subjects The Intentions of those Gentlemen were certainly Noble and Just and tended to the equal advantage of King and People But the Fate of England urg'd on its own Ruin step by step till an open Rupture between the King and Parliament made the Gap too wide ever to be made up again Sir Thomas Wentworth Earl of Strafford and Dr. Laud Archbishop of Canterbury had too great a share in the Ministry to escape being Censur'd and they were the first that felt the effects of a Popular Hatred These two Gentlemen and Iames Duke of Hamilton first advis'd King Charles to call this Parliament and all Three fell by it though not at the same time The Earl of Strafford was a Gentleman of extraordinary Parts The Fall and Character of the Earl of Strafford a great Orator and yet a greater Statesman He made a considerable Figure in the first Three Parliaments of King Charles and no man appear'd with greater Zeal against Ship-money Tunnage and Poundage and other Taxes illegally impos'd upon the Subject The Court bought him off and preferr'd him to great Honours and Places which lost him his former Friends and made the Breach irreconcilable There had been a long and intimate Friendship betwixt Mr. Pym and him and they had gone hand in hand in every thing in the House of Commons But when Sir Thomas Wentworth was upon making his Peace with the Court he sent to Pym to meet him alone at Greenwich where he began in a set Speech to sound Mr. Pym about the Dangers they were like to run by the Courses they were in and what Advantages they might have if they would but listen to some Offers would probably be made them from the Court Pym understanding his drift stopt him short with this expression You need not use all this Art to tell me that you have a mind to leave us But remember what I tell you You are going to be undone But remember That though you leave us now I will never leave you while your Head is upon your Shoulders He was as good as his word for it was Pym that first accus'd him of High Treason in the House of Commons he carried up his Impeachment to the House of Lords and was the chief Manager of his Tryal and Bill of Attainder There never was a more solemn Trial than that of the Earl of Strafford whether we consider the Accusers or the Person accus'd the Accusation or the Defence As in every thing else so in this more particularly he express'd a wonderful Presence of Mind and a vast Compass of Thought with such nervous and moving Flights of Eloquence as came nothing short of the most celebrated Pieces of Antiquity This did manifestly appear from his summing up the long Answer he made ex tempore to every one of the Articles against him with this Pathetick Conclusion My Lords said he I have troubled you longer than I should have done were it not for the Interest of these dear Pledges a Saint in Heaven hath left me At this word he stopt pointing to his Children that stood by him and dropt some Tears then went on What I forfeit for my self in nothing but that my Indiscretion should extend to my Posterity woundeth me to the very Soul You will pardon my Infirmity something I should have added but am not able therefore let it pass And now my Lords for my self I have been by the Blessing
of God taught That the Afflictions of this present Life are not to be compar'd to that Eternal Weight of Glory which shall be reveal'd hereafter And so my Lords even so with all Tranquility of Mind I freely submit my self to your Iudgment And whether that Iudgment be of Life or Death Te Deum laudamus It 's believ'd that King Charles's appearing so heartily for him did him no good with the House of Commons And it 's confidently said that he wrote his Majesty a Letter from the Tower praying him not to intercede in his Affair and that his not seeming to be concern'd in it would be the best Method to calm the Rage of his Enemies But notwithstanding this Caution the King came to the House of Lords and sending for the House of Commons made a warm Speech in favour of the Earl which some of his Friends took for so good News that they went straight from Westminster to give him an account of it Stafford receiv'd it as his Doom and told them The King's Kindness had ruin'd him and that he had little else now to do but to prepare himself for Death As King Charles was mistaken in his Intercession for the Earl of Strafford so was the Earl himself much more in neglecting the Advice of his Friends against his coming up to this Parliament It was easy to foresee there was something design'd to his Prejudice and he had fair Warning given him not to come up at that time at least till he saw how matters would go He had two plausible Pretences for his Absence if he had pleas'd to make use of them the necessity of his Presence in Ireland where he was Lord Lieutenant or in the North of England where he was Lieutenant-General of the Army that had been rais'd against the Scots But being too confident not only of the King's Favour and his Interest among the Lords but of the good effects an Humble Honey Speech might have with the House of Commons to use his own words he came late at Night to Town and took his place next Morning in the House of Lords with an Intention to ask leave that very day to go down to the House of Commons to clear himself of the Misrepresentations he lay under Mr. Pym hearing he was come mov'd to have the Doors lock'd and the Keys laid upon the Table lest any Member should give Intelligence of what they were upon Which being done he accus'd the Earl of Strafford of High-Treason and an Impeachment was immediately drawn up and agreed to by the House In the mean time it fell out unluckily for the Earl of Strafford that at his coming into the House of Lords they were upon a Debate that took them up a considerable time and while he was waiting till that was over the Commons came up with their Impeachment As the Earl was strangely unfortunate in most things that befel him in the latter Period of his Life he was no less in the very Opinion of the King himself and those others that did all they could to save his Life For the King in the Speech he made to both Houses in his favour was pleas'd to say That he did not think my Lord Strafford fit hereafter to serve him or the Commonwealth in any Place of Trust no not so much as that of a Constable And the Lord Digby in the Speech he made in the House of Commons against the Bill of Attainder for which among other things he was forc'd to fly treats the Earl in yet much harsher Terms The Name of the Earl of Strafford says he is a Name of Hatred in the present Age by his Practices and fit to be made a Terror to future Ages by his Punishment I am still the same in my Opinions and Affections as to the Earl of Strafford continues he after I believe him to be the most dangerous Minister the most insupportable to free Subjects that can be character'd I believe his Practices in themselves as high as Tyranical as any Subject ever ventur'd upon and the Malignity of them highly aggravated by those rare Qualities of his whereof God has given him the Vse but the Devil the Application In a word adds the Lord Digby I believe him still that Grand Apostate to the Commonwealth who must not expect to be pardon'd in this World till he be dispatch'd into the other And yet let me tell you Mr. Speaker my Hand must not be at that Dispatch Thus far a Nobleman that was entirely in the King's Interest and for his Zeal to the Royal Cause became the most obnoxious to the Parliament After all there seems to have been some Mistake about the main Article in his Accusation of his advising the King to bring over the Army from Ireland to reduce England which contributed more to the undoing of this Minister than all the rest For the Proof of this Article being only Words contain'd in Mr. Secretary Vane's Notes Appendix Numb 6. which are plac'd in the Appendix and said to be spoke at the Council-Table they do naturally refer to the Kingdom of Scotland and not to England the thing then under Debate being how to reduce Scotland And though Secretary Vane swore to the Truth of his Notes yet it was after such a manner as left the matter still more dubious And though he had sworn more positively it was but the Testimony of One Witness and that contradicted by Four Lords who were then present in Council and who declar'd upon their Honours That they did not remember they heard the Earl of Strafford speak those Words I cannot leave the Earl of Strafford without taking notice of a silly Mistake that has gain'd some Credit in the World as if the Bill of Attainder against him was of so extraordinary a nature and so much out of all the known Methods of Justice that the Legislators themselves were oblig'd to insert a Clause into the Body of it That it should never be drawn into President Whereas that Clause does expresly relate only to Judges in Inferior Courts and is conceiv'd in the following words Provided That no Iudge or Iudges Iustice or Iustices whatsoever shall adjudge or interpret any Act or Thing to be Treason nor hear or determine any Treason in any other manner than he or they should or ought to have done before the making of this Act. As Archbishop Laud was nothing inferior to the Earl of Strafford in Parts and much his Superior in Learning The Fall and Character of Archbishop Laud. so it is as hard to determine which of the two made a Nobler Defence at their Trial. The Fate of the former has been the same with that of most Great Men to be represented to Posterity in Extremes for we have nothing writ of him but what 's either Panegyrick or Satyr rather than History That Archbishop Laud was brought to his Trial and found Guilty during the Heat of a Civil War and when all things were tending
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
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
Fifthly his Lungs were very black and in divers places spotted and full of a thin watery Blood Lastly the Veins in the hinder part of his Head were fuller than ordinary but the Ventricles and hollowness of the Brain were full of clear Water In witness whereof with our own Hands we have Subscribed this present Relation the 7th day of November 1612. Mayerne Atkins Hammond Palmer Gifford Buttler NUMB. VI. Mr. Secretary Vane's Notes about the Earl of Strafford's Advice to King Charles to bring over an Army from Ireland Whitlock's Memoirs p. 41. to subdue England Note This was the most dubious and yet the most material Article against him which contributed most to his Ruin The Title of them was No danger of a War with Scotland If Offensive not Defensive K. Charles HOW can we undertake Offensive War if we have no more Money Lord Strafford Borrow of the City 100000 l. Go on vigorously to levy Ship-money Your Majesty having tried the Affection of your People you are absolv'd and loose from all Rule of Government and to do what Power will admit Your Majesty having tried all ways and being refus'd shall be acquitted before God and Man And you have an Army in Ireland that you may employ to reduce this Kingdom to Obedience for I am confident the Scots cannot hold out Five Months A Bp. Laud. You have tried all ways and have always been denied it is now lawful to take it by Force Lord Cottington Levies abroad there may be made for Defence of the Kingdom The Lower House are weary of the King and Church All ways shall be just to raise Money by in this inevitable Necessity and are to be us'd being lawful A Bp. Laud. For an Offensive not a Defensive War Lord Strafford The Town is full of Lords put the Commission of Array on foot and if any of them stir we will make them smart NUMB. VII The Theatrical Manner of Archbishop Laud's Consecrating Katherine Creed-Church Rushworth Part 2. Vol. 1 p. 77. in London ST Katherine Creed Church being lately repaired was suspended from all Divine Service Sermons and Sacraments till it were Consecrated Wherefore Dr. Laud Lord Bishop of London on the 16 th of Ianuary being the Lord's Day came thither in the Morning to Consecrate the same Now because great Exceptions were taken at the Formality thereof we will briefly relate the manner of the Consecration At the Bishop's approach to the West-door of the Church some that were prepared for it cried with a loud voice Open open ye everlasting Doors that the King of Glory may enter in and presently the Doors were opened And the Bishop with some Doctors and many other principal Men went in and immediately falling down upon his Knees with his Eyes lifted up and his Arms spread abroad uttered these words This Place is holy this Ground is holy In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost I pronounce it holy Then he took up some of the dust and threw it up into the Air several times in his going up towards the Chancel when they approached near to the Rail and Communion-Table the Bishop bowed towards it several times and returning they went round the Church in Procession saying the Hundredth Psalm after that the 19 th Psalm and then said a Form of Prayer Lord Iesus Christ c. and concluding We Consecrate this Church and separate it unto thee as holy Ground not to be prophaned any more to common use After this the Bishop being near the Communion-Table and taking a written Book in his hand pronounced Curses upon those that should afterwards prophane that Holy Place by Musters of Soldiers or keeping prophane Law-Courts or carrying Burdens through it and at the end of every Curse he bowed towards the East and said Let all the People say Amen When the Curses were ended he pronounced a number of Blessings upon all those that had any hand in Framing and Building of that Sacred and Beautiful Church and those that had given and should hereafter give any Chalices Plate Ornaments or Utensils And at the end of every Blessing he bowed towards the East saying Let all the People say Amen After this followed the Sermon which being ended the Bishop consecrated and administred the Sacrament in manner following As he approached the Communion-Table he made many several lowly Bowings and coming up to the side of the Table where the Bread and Wine were covered he bowed seven times and then after the reading of many Prayers he came near the Bread and gently lifted up the corner of the Napkin wherein the Bread was laid and when he beheld the Bread he laid it down again flew back a step or two bowed three several times towards it then he drew near again and opened the Napkin and bowed as before Then he laid his hand on the Cup which was full of Wine with a Cover upon it which he let go again went back and bowed thrice towards it then he came near again and lifting up the Cover of the Cup looked into it and seeing the Wine he let fall the Cover again retired back and bowed as before then he received the Sacrament and gave it to some principal Men after which many Prayers being said the Solemnity of the Consecration ended NUMB. VIII The Order of Council against Archibald the King's Fool for affronting Archbishop Laud. IT is this day ordered by his Majesty Rushworth Part 2. Vol. 1. p. 471. with the Advice of the Board That Archibald Armstrong the King's Fool for certain scandalous Words of a high nature spoken by him against the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury his Grace and proved to be uttered by him by two Witnesses shall have his Coat pull'd over his Head and be discharged of the King's Service and banished the Court for which the Lord Chamberlain of the King's Houshold is prayed and required to give Order to be executed And immediately the same was put in Execution NUMB. IX The Petition of the House of Commons Husband 's Collect. in 4 to from p. 1. to p. 29. and their Remonstrance of the State of the Nation presented to K. Charles I. at his Return from Scotland in 1641. Together with the King's Answer and the Declaration he afterwards publish'd to the same purpose Note That the Matters contain'd in these Four Papers were the Grounds of the Civil War and came afterwards to be decided by the Sword The Petition of the House of Commons which accompanied the Declaration of the State of the Kingdom when it was presented to his Majesty at Hampton-Court Most Gracious Sovereign YOur Majesties most humble and faithful Subjects the Commoners in this present Parliament assembled do with much thankfulness and joy acknowledge the great mercy and favour of God in giving your Majesty a safe and peaceable return out of Scotland into your Kingdom of England where the pressing dangers and distempers of the State have caused us with much earnestness to
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
few days before his Return to fall into new Heats about Innovations in Religion the Rebellion in Ireland Plots said to be laid in Scotland the disabling the Clergy to exercise Temporal Iurisdiction and excluding the Bishops from Votes in Parliament All which matters together with Reports that were buzz'd about of some Designs against the Parliament led the House into that Remarkable Petition and Remonstrance of the State of the Nation The Petition and Remonstrance of the II of Commons to King Charlâ—s in which they ript up again all the Mismanagements in the Government since the King 's coming to the Crown and attributed all to Evil Counsels and Counsellors and a Malignant Party about the King This Remonstrance was roughly penn'd both for Matter and Expression and met with great Opposition in the House the Debate lasting from Three a Clock in the Afternoon till Ten a Clock next Morning and was presented to his Majesty the Eighth Day after his Return from Scotland It was no wonder King Charles was surpriz'd at this Petition and Remonstrance considering how much he had done to comply with his Parliament in all they desired And since from these two Papers and from the King's Answer to it at its delivery and the Declaration he publish'd more at large afterwards to the same purpose the Reader will be better enabled to make a Judgment of the Cause and Arguments on both Sides for the Civil War that ensued I have plac'd all the Four in the Appendix Appendix Numb 9. The Length of them may be more easily pardon'd since upon the Matters contain'd in them the whole almost of all the Differences that came to be decided by the Sword happen'd to turn Things were now going fast on towards lessening the Confidence betwixt the King and Parliament K. Charles's coming to the II. of Commons to demand the Five Members And yet there were not wanting Endeavours on both Sides to accommodate Matters by soft and healing Methods when the King 's coming to the House of Commons in Person to demand Five of their Members whom he had order'd the day before to be impeach'd of High-Treason did put all into a Combustion and gave occasion to the House to assert their Privileges with a greater Warmth than ever This was the most unlucky Step King Charles could have made at that Juncture And the Indiscretion of some that attended the King to the Lobby of the House was insisted upon as an Argument that the King was resolv'd to use Violence upon the Parliament which it 's to be presum'd was a thing far from his thoughts The Five Members had hardly time to make their Escape just when the King was entring and upon his going away the House adjourn'd in a Flame for some days ordering a Committee to sit in Guildhall in the mean time as if they were not safe at Westminster Whoever they were that advis'd the King to this rash Attempt are justly chargeable with all the Blood that was afterwards spilt for this sudden Action was the first and visible Ground of all our following Miseries It was believ'd That if the King had found the Five Members in the House and had call'd in his Guards to seize them the House would have endeavour'd their defence and oppos'd Force to Force which might have endanger'd the King's Person But the Consequences were bad enough without this for immediately upon it there was nothing but Confusion and Tumults Fears and Iealousies every where which spread themselves to Whitehall in the rudest manner so that his Majesty thinking himself not safe there he retir'd with his Family to Hampton Court The King leaving the Parliament in this manner there were scarce any hopes of a thorough Reconciliation But when after a great many Removes from place to place The Beginning of the Civil Wars his Majesty came to set up his Standard at Nottingham there ensued a Fatal and Bloody War which it's reasonable to believe was never design'd at first by either Side Each Party blam'd the other for beginning this War and it 's not easy to determine which of them began it Though the King made the first Steps that seem'd to tend that way such as raising a Troop for a Guard to his Person summoning the Gentlemen and Freeholders of several Counties to attend him in his Progress to the North and ordering Arms and Ammunition to be bought in Holland for his use Yet the Parliament did as much at the same time for they likewise rais'd Guards of their own and took care that the Magazine of Hull should not fall into the King's hands So that the King and Parliament prepar'd themselves insensibly for War without considering that these Preparations must gradually and inevitably come to Blows in the end The King 's setting up his Standard at Nottingham was not the first publick Notice of this War as has been commonly reported by Historians that should have known better for that was not done till August 22. 1642. and yet the House of Commons past these Two Votes the 12 th of Iuly before 1. That an Army should be forthwith rais'd for the Safety of the King's Person Defence of both Houses of Parliament and of those who have obey'd their Orders and Commands and preserving of the true Religion Laws Liberty and Peace of the Kingdom And 2. That the Earl of Essex should be General and the Earl of Bedford General of the Horse To which Votes the House of Lords agreed Whoever begun the War it was carried on in the beginning with equal Success and it was hard to determine which Side had the better Till in the Sequel the Loss of Essex's Army in the West and other disadvantages brought the Parliaments Affairs to a low Ebb and seem'd to promise the King an entire Mastery To retrieve their sinking Fortune the Parliament was oblig'd to call in the Scots to their Assistance which so far turn'd the Scale that the King lost ground every day after And the Defeat of his Army at the Battels of Marston-Moor and Naseby put him out of capacity to keep the Field and broke entirely all his Measures During the whole Course of this Vnnatural War it was hard to divine what would be the Fate of England whether an Absolute Vnlimited Monarchy a new huddled-up Commonwealth or a downright Anarchy If the king should prevâ—il the first was to â—e fearâ—d considering that the many Indignities put upon him might imbitter him against the Parlâ—ament If the Parliament should prevail the second was to be apprehended And if the Army should set up for themselves as afterwards they did the last was inevitably to follow All which some of the best men about the King wisely foresaw and trembled at the Event of every Battel that was fought whoever happen'd to be Victors It was the dread of these Misfortunes that hinder'd the Lords and Commons whom the King call'd to Oxford to assume to themselves the Name of The Parliament
and among other Motives brought them Engagements in writing from most of the greatest Peers of England to join with them and assist them when they should come into England with their Army This did much animate them for they had not the least doubt of the Papers brought them But all this was discover'd at the Treaty of Rippon to have been a base Forgery For there the Scâ—ttish Lords looking very sullenly upon some of the English Lords as on Persons of no Faith or Truth the Lord Mandevil came to the Earl of Rothes and asked the reason of that change of their Countenances and Behaviour in them who after some high Reflections at length challeng'd him and the other Lords of not keeping what they engag'd to them Upon which that Lord stood amaz'd and told him and so did the other Lords there That they had sent no such Messages nor Papers to them and that they had been abus'd by the blackest Imposture that ever was Thus it appear'd concludes this Author how dangerous it may be to receive some things that seem to have the highest probabilities in them easily and upon trust To leave this Subject it may not be improper to add another Passage out of the same Book where that Reverend Prelate speaking of the Inâ—lucements that prevail'd with the Scots to come into the Assistance of the Parliament Three Years after tells us That among other Arguments That Paper which was sent down in the Year 1640 as the Engagement of Twenty eight of the Peers of England for their Concurrence with the Scottish Army that Year was shown to divers to engage them into a grateful Return to those to whom it was pretended they were so highly oblig'd For though the Earl of Rothes and a few more were well satisfied about the Forgery of that Paper yet they thought that a Secret of too great Importance to be generally known therefore it was still kept up from the Body of the Nation To shut up what relates to K. Charles I. K. Charles's thoughts of Resigning the Crown to his Son After the Treaty of Newport was broke off and he once more carried away by the Army he found his Case was desperate and thereupon began to have some Thoughts of Resigning the Crown to the Prince of Wales as the only means in that unhappy Condition to preserve it for his Family But before he had time to digest this Resolution or an opportunity to acquaint the Parliament with it he was hurried on to his Trial. The last day of that Trial he earnestly propos'd That before Sentence pass'd he might be heard before the Lords and Commons in the Painted Chamber where he had something to offer for the Peace of the Kingdom and the Liberty of the Subject which might settle all differences It is probable he meant by this to have resign'd the Crown which his Enemies having some Intimation of and fearing it might be accepted they were the more forward to proceed to Sentence and Execution Likewise some days before his Death About setting up the Duke of Gloucester King the prevailing Party had thoughts of setting up the Duke of Gloucester King This was not kept so secret but King Charies had some notice of it for the Duke and his Sister having leave to wait upon him the Night before the Execution he took the Young Duke in his Arms and told him They were going to take off his Father's Head and may be they would set the Crown upon his Head which he forbad him to accept of while his Two Elder Brothers were Living There befel him an Accident which though a Trifle in it self and that no Weight is to be laid upon any thing of that nature yet since the best Authors both Ancient and Modern have not thought it below the Majesty of History to mention the like it may be the more excusable to insert it The King being at Oxford during the Civil Wars went one day to see the Publick Library where he was show'd among other Books a Virgil nobly Printed and exquisitely bound The Lord Falkland to divert the King would have his Majesty make a Trial of his Fortune by the Sortes Virgilianae His consulting the Sortes Virgilianae which every body knows was an usual kind of Augury some Ages past Whereupon the King opening the Book the Period which happen'd to come up was that part of Dido's Imprecation against Aeneas which Mr. Dryden translates thus Yet let a Race untam'd and haughty Foes His peaceful Entrance with dire Arms oppose Oppress'd with Numbers in th' unequal Field His Men discourag'd and himself expell'd Let him for Succonr sue from place to place Torn from his Subjects and his Son's embrace First let him see his Friends in Battel slain And their untimely Fate lament in vain And when at length the cruel War shall cease On hard Conditions may he buy his Peace Nor let him then enjoy Supreme Command But fall untimely by some hostile Hand And lye unburi'd in the common Sand. It is said K. Charles seem'd concern'd at this Accident and that the Lord Falkland observing it would likewise try his own Fortune in the same manner hoping he might fall upon some Passage that could have no relation to his Case and thereby divert the King's Thoughts from any Impression the other might have upon him But the place that Falkland stumbled upon was yet more suited to his Destiny than the other had been to the King 's being the following Expressions of Evander upon the untimely Death of his Son Pallas as they are translated by the same Hand O Pallas thou hast fail'd thy plighted Word To fight with Reason not to tempt the Sword I warn'd thee but in vain for well I knew What Perils Youthful Ardor would pursue That boiling Blood would carry thee too far Young as thou were 't in Dangers raw to War O curst Essay of Arms disast'rous Doom Prelude of Bloody Fields and Fights to come To return to our History Upon the Death of King Charles I. there was a Total Eclipse of the Royal Family for Twelve Years During a great part of which time an unusual Meteor fill'd the English Orb and with its surprizing Influences over-aw'd not only Three Kingdoms but the powerfullest Princes and States about us A Great Man he was and Posterity might have paid a just Homage to his Memory if he had not embrued his Hands in the Blood of his Prince or had not usurp'd upon the Liberties of his Countrey It being as natural a Curiosity in mankind to know the Character of a Fortunate Vsurper as of a Lawful King it may not perhaps be much amiss to say something of Oliver Cromwell By Birth he was a Gentleman The Usurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell and bred up for some time at the Vniversity though nothing of a Scholar When the Civil Wars broke out he took the Parliaments Side and his first Employment in the Army was a Captain
that Revolution he was no less in the Sense King Charles continued to express of so great an Obligation And it show'd him to be a Man of true Judgmen That the Duke of Albemarle behav'd himself in such a manner to the Prince he had thus oblig'd as never to seem to overvalue the Services of General Monk King Charles the Second prov'd one of the Finest Gentlemen of the Age and had Abilities to make one of the Best of Kings The first Years of his Reign were a continued Iubilee And while we were reaping the Fruits of Peace at Home after the Miseries of a long Civil War a Potent Neighbour was laying the Foundation of a Power Abroad that has since been the Envy and Terror of Europe One might have thought that his Parliament had glutted his Ambition to the full by heaping those Prerogatives upon him which had been contested for with his Father at the Expence of so much Blood and Treasure But he grasp'd early after more and from his first Accession to the Croâ—n show'd but little Inclination to depend upon Parliaments Of which we have a remarkable Instance in an Affair that was one of the true Causes of the Disgrace of that Great Man Chancellor Clarendon which happen'd a few Years after It looks as if Heaven took a more than ordinary Care of England that we did not throw up our Liberties all at once upon the Restoration of that King for though some were for bringing him back upon Terms yet after he was once come he possess'd so entirely the Hearts of his People that they thought nothing was too much for them to grant or for him to receive Among other Designs to please him there was one form'd at Court to settle such a Revenue upon him by Parliament during Life as should place him beyond the Necessity of asking more except in the Case of a War or some such extraordinary Occasion The Earl of Southampton Lord High Treasurer came heartily into it out of a mere Principle of Honour and Affection to the King but Chancellor Clarendon secretly opposâ—d it It happenâ—d that they two had a private Conference about the matter and the Chancellor being earnest to bring the Treasurer to his Opinion took the freedom to tell him That he was better acquainted with the King's Temper and Inclinations than Southampton could reasonably expect to be having had long and intimate Acquaintance with his Majesty abroad and that he knew him so well that if such a Revenue was once settled upon him for Life neither of them Two would be of any further use and that they were not in probability to see many more Sessions of Parliament during that Reign Southampton was brought over but this Passage could not be kept so secret but it came to King Charles his Ears which together with other things wherein Clarendon was misrepresented to him prov'd the true reason why he abandon'd him to his Enemies Notwithstanding this disappointment King Charles made a shift partly by his obliging Carriage partly by other Inducements to get more Money from his first Parliament towards the Expence of his Pleasures than all his Predecessors of the Norman Race had obtain'd before towards the Charges of their Wars This Parliament had like to have been Perpetual if the Vigor wherewith they began to prosecute the Popish Plot and the Resentment they express'd against his Brother had not oblig'd him much against his Will to part with them after they had sat near Nineteen Years That there was at that time a Popish Plot The Discovery of the Popish Plot. and that there always has been one since the Reformation to support if not restore the Romish Religion in England scarce any body calls in question How far the near Prospect of a Popish Successor ripen'd the Hopes and gave new Vigor to the Designs of that Party and what Methods they were then upon to bring those Designs about Coleman's Letters alone without any other concurring Evidence are more than sufficient to put the matter out of doubt But what Superstructures might have been afterwards built upon an unquestionable Foundation and how far some of the Witnesses of that Plot might come to darken Truth by subsequent Addttions of their own must be deferr'd till the Great Account to be made before a Higher Tribunal And till then a great part of the Popish Plot as it was then sworn to will in all human probability lye among the darkest Scenes of our English History However this is certain the Discovery of the Popish Plot had great and various Effects upon the Nation And it 's from this remarkable Period of Time we may justly reckon a New Aera in the English Account In the first place Its Effects it awaken'd the Nation out of a deep Lethargy they had been in for Nineteen Years together and alarm'd them with Fears and Iealousies that have been found to our sad Experience but too well grounded In the next it gave the Rise too at least settled that unhappy distinction of Whig and Tory among the People of England that has since occasion'd so many Mischiefs And lastly the Discovery of the Popish Plot began that open Struggle between King Charles and his People that occasion'd him not only to dissolve his first Favourite Parliament and the Three others that succeeded but likewise to call no more during the rest of his Reign All which made way for bringing in question the Charters of London and other Corporations with a great many dismal Effects that follow'd It was likewise about this time that a certain Set of Men began a second time to adopt into our Religion a Mahomet an Principle under the Names of Passive Obedience and Non-Resistance which since the time of the Impostor that first broach'd it has been the means to Enslave a great part of the World The great share which the Duke of York was suppos'd to have had very early The Bill of Exclusion in a Design to overturn our Religion and Liberties and the mighty Hopes which the near Prospect of a Popish Successor gave the Romanâ— Catholicks of bringing about their Grand Project of rooting out the Northern Heresy were the Reasons why a great part of Both Houses of Parliament had recourse to a Bill of Exclusion against the Duke as the only effectual means they could think on in that Juncture to prevent our intended Ruin This Prince had been privately reconcil'd to Rome in the time of his Exile But it seems it was not thought convenient he should declare himself till several Years after And though he had abandon'd the Worship of the Church of England it was accounted a heinous Crime to say he was a Roman-Catholick when every body knew that he was one and some were Fin'd in great Sums of Money for saying it King Charle's Conversion if we believe Huddleston the Priest was of an older Date But if true he either wanted Courage or thought it not his Interest to
to accomplish his Design for what a Parliament it may be would not do he was resolv'd that an Army should and therefore Care was taken to model his Troops as much to that end as the shortness of time would allow The Modelling of the Army Ireland was the inexhaustible Source whence England was to be furnish'd with a Romish Army and an Irish Roman-Catholick was the most welcome Guest at Whitehall They came over in Shoals to take possession of the promis'd Land and had already swallow'd up in their Hopes the best Estates of the Hereticks in England Over and above compleat Regiments of them there was scarce a Troop or Company wherein some of them were not plac'd by express Order from Court Several Protestants that had serv'd well and long were turn'd out to make room for them and Seven considerable Officers were cashier'd in one day merely for refusing to admit them The chief Forts and particularly Portsmouth and Hull the two Keys of England were put into Popish Hands and the Garisons so modell'd that the Majority were Papists To over-awe the Nation and to make Slavery familiar this Army was encamp'd Yearly near London where the only Publick Chappel in the Camp was appointed for the Service of the Romish Church and strict Orders given out That the Soldiers of that Religion should not fail every Sunday and Holiday to repair thither to Mass. As Ireland was remarkable for having furnish'd King Iames with Romish Troops sent into England The Methods us'd in Ireland so was it much more for the bare-fac'd and open Invasions that were made there upon the Liberties and Rights of the Protestants That Kingdom was the most proper Field to ripen their Projects in considering that the Protestants were much out-number'd by the Papists and had been for some Ages the constant Object of their Rancour and Envy which had been more than once express'd in Letters of Blood King Iames did recall the Earl of Clarendon from the Government of Ireland Tyrconnel made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland soon after he was sent thither and appointed the Earl of Tyrconnel to succeed him who was a Gentleman had signaliz'd himself for his Bigotry to the Church of Rome and his Hatred to the Protestants The Roman-Catholick Clergy had recommended him to King Iames for that Post in a Letter mention'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 21. As one that did first espouse and chiefly maintain the Cause of the Catholick Clergy against their many and powerful Enemies for the last Five and twenty Years and was then the only Person under whose Fortitude and Popularity in that Kingdom they durst with chearfulness and assurance own their Loyalty and assert his Majesty's Interest Making it therefore their humble Request That his Majesty would be pleas'd to lodge his Authority in his hands to the Terror of the Factious and Encouragement of his Majesty's faithful Subjects in Ireland promising to receive him with such Acclamations as the long-captiv'd Jews did their Redeemer Mordecai Which Letter show'd they were no less mistaken in their History of the Bible than their Advice to the King for it does not appear by the Story of Mordecai in the Scripture that he was ever sent to the Iews or remov'd from the City of Susa after he came into Favour with Ahasuerus However Tyrconnel fully answer'd the hopes and expectations of the Papists and the fears of the Protestants of Ireland for by the Ministry of this Rigid Man was the Ruin of the Protestant English Interest in that Kingdom in a great measure compleated At King Iames's Accession to the Crown the Army of Ireland consisted of about Seven Thousand Men all Protestants and zealous to the Service These were in a little time all turn'd out and the whole Army made up of Papists most of them the Sons and Descendants or near Relations of those that were Attainted for the Rebellion in 1641 or others that had distinguish'd themselves since that time by their notorious Villanies and implacable Hatred to the English and Protestant Interest Though in King Charles's time The Manner of filling up the Benches in Ireland by the Influence of the Duke of York there had been grounds of Complaint against some of the Judges in Ireland upon the account of their Partiality to the Papists yet when King Iames came to the Crown these very Judges were not thought fit enough for the Work that was design'd It was judg'd necessary to employ the most zealous of the Party those that from Interest and Inclination were the most deeply engag'd to destroy the Protestant Interest and accordingly such were pick'd out to sit in every Court of Justice The Custody of the King's Conscience and Great Seal was given to Sir Alexander Fitton a Person convicted of Forgery not only at Westminster-Hall and at Chester but Fin'd for it by the Lords in Parliament This Man was taken out of Gaol to discharge the Trust of Lord High Chancellor and had no other Qualities to recommend him besides his being a Convert to the Romish Church and a Renegado to his Religion and Countrey To him were added as Masters of Chancery one Stafford a Popish Priest and O Neal the Son of one of the most notorious Murderers in the Massacre 1641. In the Kings Bench care was taken to place one Nugent whose Father had lost his Honour and Estate for being a principal Actor in the same Rebellion This Man who had never made any figure at the Bar was pitch'd upon to judge whether the Outlawries against his Father and Fellow-Rebels ought to be Revers'd and whether the Settlements that were made in Ireland upon these Outlawries ought to stand good The next Court is that of Exchequer from which only of all the Courts in Ireland there lies no Appeal or Writ of Error in England It was thought fit that one Rice a profligate Fellow and noted for nothing but Gaming and a mortal Inveteracy against the Protestants should fill the place of Lord Chief Baron This man was often heard to say before he came to be a Judge That he would drive a Coach and Six Horses through the Act of Settlement And before that Law was actually Repeal'd in King Iames's Parliament he declar'd upon the Bench That it was against Natural Equity and did not oblige It was before him that all the Charters in the Kingdom were damn'd in the space of a Term or two so much was he for dispach A Learned Prelate Dr. King Bishop of Londonderry his State of Ireland under K. Iames. from whose Book all the things that here relate to that Countrey are taken does observe That if this Judge had been left alone it was believ'd in a few Years he would by some Contrivance or another have given away most of the Protestants Estates in Ireland without troubling a Parliament to Attaint them In the Court of Common-Pleas it was though advisable that a Protestant Chief Iustice should
to give you my Iudgâ—ment of your Proceedings in your Convocation as you call it and both as Rex in solio and unus Gregis in Ecclesia I am doubly concerned My Title to the Crown no body calls in question but they that neither love you nor me and you guess whom I mean All that you and your Brethren have said of a King in Possession for that Word I tell you is no worse than that you make use of in your Canon concerns not me at all I am the next Heir and the Crown is mine by all Rights you can name but that of Conquest and Mr Solicitor has sufficiently express'd my own Thoughts concerning the Nature of Kingship in general and concerning the nature of it ut in mea persona And I believe you were all of his Opinion at least none of you said ought contrary to it at the time he spake to you from me But you know all of you as I think that my Reason of calling you together was to give your Iudgments how far a Christian and a Protestant King may concur to assist his Neighbours to shake of their Obedience to their once Sovereign upon the Account of Oppression Tyranny or what else you like to name it In the late Queen's time this Kingdom was very free in assisting the Hollanders both with Arms and Advice And none of your Coat ever told me that any scrupled about it in her Reign Vpon my coming to England you may know that it came from some of your selves to raise Scruples about this Matter And albeit I have often told my Mind concerning Jus Regium in Subditos as in May last in the Star-Chamber upon the occasion of Hales his Pamphlet yet I never took any notice of these Scruples till the Affairs of Spain and Holland forc'd me to it All my Neighbours call on me to concur in the Treaty between Holland and Spain and the Honour of the Nation will will not suffer the Hollanders to be abandoned especially after so much Money and Men spent in their Quarrel Therefore I was of the Mind to call my Clergy together to satisfy not so much me as the World about us of the Iustness of my owning the Hollanders at this time This I needed not have done and you have forced me to say I wish I had not You have dipp'd too deep in what all Kings reserve among the Arcana Imperii And what ever Aversion you may profess against God's being the Author of Sin you have stumbled upon the Threshold of that Opinion in saying upon the Matter that even Tyranny is God's Authority and should be reverenc'd as such If the King of Spain should return to claim his old Pontifical Right to my Kingdom you leave me to seek for others to fight for it For you tell us upon the matter beforehand his Authority is God's Authority if he prevail Thus far the Secretary's Hand as I take it follows the rest in the King 's own Hand thus Mr. Doctor I have no time to express my Mind farther in this thorny business I shall give you my Orders about it by Mr. Solicitor and until then meddle no more in it for they are Edge-Tools or rather like that Weapon that 's said to cut with the one edge and cure with the other I commit you to God's Protection good Doctor Abbot and rest Your good Friend Iames R. APPENDIX Containing a Collection of Instruments and Original Papers referr'd to in the former Memoirs NUMB. I. The Character of the Members of the House of Commons in Queen Elizabeth's Time Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia p. 13 14. and how differing from those in the Reign of King James WE must ascribe some part of the Commendation to the Wisdom of the Times and the Choice of Parliament-men For I find not that they were at any time given to any violent or pertinacious dispute Elections being made of grave and discreet Persons not factious and ambitious of Fame such as came not to the House with a malevolent Spirit of Contention but with a preparation to consult on the publick good rather to comply than contest with her Majesty Neither do I find that the House was at any time weaken'd and pester'd with the admission of too many Young Heads as it hath been of later times Which remembers me of Recorder Martin's Speech about the Tenth of our late Sovereign Lord King Iames when there were accounts taken of Forty Gentlemen not above Twenty and some not exceeding Sixteen which moved him to say That it was the ancient Custom for Old Men to make Laws for Young ones but that then he saw the Case alter'd and that there were Children elected unto the great Council of the Kingdom which came to invade and invert Nature and to enact Laws to govern their Fathers Sure we are the House always took the Common Cause into their Consideration and they saw the Queen had just occasion and need enough to use their assistance Neither do I remember that the House did ever capitulate or prefer their private to the publick the Queen's Necessities c. but waited their times and in the first place gave their Supply and according to the Exigency of her Affairs yet failed not at last to obtain what they desired so that the Queen and her Parliaments had ever the good fortune to depart in Love and on reciprocal Terms which are Considerations which have not been so exactly observed in our last Assemblies as they might and I would to God they had been For considering the great Debt left on the King and in what Incumbrances the House it self had then drawn him his Majesty was not well used though I lay not the blame on the whole Suffrage of the House where he had many good Friends for I dare avouch had the House been freed of half a dozen of popular and discontented Persons such as with the Fellow that burnt the Temple at Ephesus would be talked of tho but for doing of mischief I am confident the King had obtained that which in reason and at his first Accession he ought to have received freely and without any condition NUMB. II. The Character of Cecil Naunton Ibid. p. 80 81 82 83. Earl of Salisbury with his Letter to the Lord Mountjoy about the Spaniards Invading Ireland AND so again to this great Master of State and the Staff of the Queen's declining Age who though his little crooked Person could not promise any great supportation yet it carried thereon a Head and a Head-piece of a vast content and therein it seems Nature was so diligent to compleat one and the best part about him as that to the perfection of his Memory and Intellectuals she took care also of his Senses and to put him in Linceos Oculos or to pleasure him the more borrowed of Argos so to give unto him a Prospective Sight And for the rest of his Sensitive Virtues his Predecessor Walsingham had left him a Receit
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