even above the Temptation of Sovereignty it self as did after wards fully appear Nay and so glorious was the atchievment also that there was more in it then the single Restauration of Charles the Second even the recovery of lost Monarchy to the Royal Family it self to whom the Diadem of Right belonged though at that time it was left a prey to Usurpers as they could play their Game He Lov'd his Prince and he lov'd his Country and as a True English-man judged them to have one and the same Interest And thus his Actions justified his Declarations which were to reduce the Military Power in obedience to the Civil The Soldiers of England having then Erected a distinct Interest from the People of it Nor was it an easy matter to have reduced them had not the Army by His most Excellent conduct I will rather say by a Divine been divided and set at odds It now only remains my Lord tâ—…at I deliver this Memorial to Posterity under your Patronage In which I purpose not to touch upon things known and allow'd any otherwise then barely for Method sake the stress of the Controversy not depending upon Them but upon General Monks designed Loyalty to restore our Sovereign and our Laws to us Now because he was short sighted and could not discern at a Distance it has been suggested to me more sarcastically then wittily as if that Imperfection had reached his understanding also and that he could not see so far as to the Restoring of the King Let others who are as tender of the honor of the late Duke of Albemarle as I am and ought to be contribute to the vindicating of his Memory from this Calumny in what proportion and with what solemnity of attestation they please to gain Credit As for my self being of an Inferior rank I do foresee that what I shall deliver will not by a great many easily be believed yea I am before hand threatned that it shall not whether it be upon the Score of my fidelity and secresie in that great affair or of the prosperous close and Issue of it in my deceased Lord I shall not trouble my self to determine against spite and Prejudice But contenting my self with the answer of a good Conscience that I have not forged things either to greaten his Honor and Loyalty or to lessen it by relating some few passages to which I was privy or in which I acted Envy having pursu'd even a Fly upon this fortunate Wheel of Revolution though not making the noise of a Qualem or Quantem pulverem I shall presume to pray your Lordships protection of the ensuing Narrative and of the unworthy Author of it who is My Lord Your Lordships Obliged and Devoted Servant John Price THE MYSTERY AND METHOD Of His MAJESTIE' 's Happy Restauration c. AUGUST 1. 1659. Sir George Booth now Lord De la Mere by compact at his day appeared in Arms be it Recorded to his Eternal Honour and â—…ent forth a brisk Declaration manifesting the justice and necessity of them For at that time the whole Nation groaned under the insupportable Servitude of the Tyrannical Oligarchy sitting at Westminster under the notion of a Parliament against whom a very powerful Combination was then made Many of those who had sormerly fought under them complained that they wâ—…e deceived nay and diverse even then actually in their service were so ingenuous as to confess that That could not be their Countries Freedom where the worst of Tyrannies under the 〈◊〉 of a Commonwealth aâ—…d the good old â—…use were like to be perpetuated And however the great Officers might thrive whilst they were in poweâ—… yet they saw full well that their Posterity would be forced to pay back to tâ—…ose liâ—…entious Usurpers whatever their 〈◊〉 had got should the Government still restâ—… an Oligarchy which is the corruption of the worst of Governments a Democrasie and consequently the worst of Tyrannies Thus we â—…ee thaâ—… the State oâ—… Three Kingdoms was then most deplorable The King compassionated their condition for himâ—…elf had the greatest share in the calamity and though his Royal Person was safe from the fury of his Enemies yet was he so neaâ—… that by his authority he was still ready to contribute to the vindicating the just rights of his Subjects and his own To this end there were constantly residing at London some Noble Persons of great Honour and 〈◊〉 Loyalâ—…y in spight of Axes an Gibbets aâ—…ter they had lost the Field who were commissioned by his Majesty both to hold correspondence with him and to issue forth such commands from time to time as occasion should offer for his Majesties Service And the occasion was eminent now upon the return of that Thing called a Parliament who had been respited from their Power by the Monarcâ—…ical Interposition of their General Oliver Cromwel and his Son and that too by the space of about five years This Restitution was mostly procured by the Army who feared that a National Interest like a Deluge would have broken in upon them had they suffered Cromwel's Son and his MockParliaâ—…ent to sit longer in Authority And the Armie's pretences being for Commonwealth they had no nearer a Sanctuary to flye unto then this Long Parliaâ—…ent as they called it whose guilt they knew to be at least equal with Theirs and distasted and abhorred by all thaâ—… were not their own and even by â—…ome of Them too wherefore the Presbyterian Party began now at last to awaken into Loyalty and chose â—…ather to joyn with the Cavaliers as they pretended then to see their Country â—…o enslaved and indeed the Cavaliers 〈◊〉 quieted their Jelousies for his Majesties Commissioners consented that the Presbyterians should have the chief command in all places and that their Declaration should only be for a Free Parliament and against publick grievances And now Sir George Booth Lord De la mere undertook â—…or Cheshire and the Counties adjacent Sir Thomas Middleton for North Wales Major General Massy for Glocester and South Wales The Lord Fairfax for the North The Lord Roberts now Earl of Radnor and President of the Council for the West Colonel Alexander Popham and Col. Robert Rolles for Wiltshire Somersetshire and Devonshire Col. Norton for Portsmouth and Hantshire and Sir Horatio now Lord Townsend for the associated Counties and in like manner diverse others in all places through out England solemn Protestations and Assurances being given that they would not fail each other Not long before this Sir John Greenvile the now Earl oâ—… Bath who was one of those Honourable Commiâ—…sioners residing at London for his Majesties Service had received a particular Commission to treat secretly and privately with General Monk in Scotland The King it seems having these thoughts about him that if a dexterous Application could be made to him he might be gained to his Service as having been in his Fathers in which he was taken Prisoner and his Releasement neglected But the Parliament having experienced
The Illustrious GEORGE MONCK Duke of ALBEMARLE Captaine Generall of all his Majesties Land-forces etc. THE MYSTERY AND METHOD Of His Majesty's Happy Restauration Laid Open to PUBLICK VIEW By John Price D. D. one of the late Duke of Albemarle ' s Chaplains and Privy to all the Secret Passages and Particularities of that Glorious Revolution LONDON Printed for James Vade at the Cock and Sugar-Loaf near St. Dunstans Church in Fleet-street 1680. To the Right Honorable John Earl of Bath Viscount Greenvile of Lansdown Baron Greenvile of Biddiford and Kelkhampton Knight Groom of the Stole First Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Devon and Cornwall and one of the Lords of His Majesties Most Honorable Privy Council c. My Lord WHat I have here presented to your Lordships View I did once design to have transmitted to Posterity in a large Draught and in a Freer Style and to have reserved it as my last Testament to the care of my Executor in Confidence that it would Then have Entertainment with such as should not be tempted by Impulses of Prejudice Interest or Malevolence to asperse the Generous and successful Attempt of General Monk towards the Restoring of our Present Sovereign whom God preserve long among us But finding that of late his Loyâ—…lty to his Prince hath been dayâ—…y more and more qâ—…estioned and traduced his Conduct abaâ—…ed nay and that my self have been charged to my Fâ—…ce with the Rude 〈◊〉 of Forgery upon my undertakiâ—…g 〈◊〉 in â—…rivate Discourses to Vindicâ—…te and assert His Integrity and Sincerâ—…ty knowing so well as I did upon what Grounds he first Engag'd And this too by â—…uch Persons generally as of all men in the World had the least Reâ—…son tâ—… do it I am forced to alter my fiâ—…st Reâ—…olution as not being able to answer it tâ—… the Sacred Aâ—…hes of my Deceased Lord and Patron the with-holding of thâ—…e Papers hâ—…w rude and Imperfect soever aâ—…y longer from the Publick It might poâ—…bly be one Grain in the Scale also the 〈◊〉 that there are none that I know of now Living but your Lordship and your Servant of this Memorial that were Priâ—…y to the Motives of the Generals First Engagement when Sir George Booth was at the Head of some Confederates in Cheshire Now though true it be that that Combination took not effect and indeed it was well for the General nay and possibly for the King and Kingdom too that it did not yet from the time of Lamberts turning out of Doors his Masters at Westminster I do avouch that my Lord did all along with a direct Eye aim at the Kings Restauration Neither is it Improbable but that this second Attempt would have miscarry'd likewise had not the Conduct of it been in the hands of a Superior Providence For upon the Generals open Protesting in Scotland against the English Aâ—…my for disturbing the Rump the Cavalier and Presbyterian the then two Royal Parties became Rampant in their hopes though neither of them altogether forgetting their old Animosities Wherefore the more discerning Independents fearing an approaching Ruin adjudging it Prudent to make advantage of these Heart-burnings began to make fresh Court to the Presbyterian he being of a nearer Allyance as having fought under the same Colours and pay with themselves againâ—…t the Late King These two gâ—…eat Part es comprehended in a manner the â—…dy of the Engliâ—…h aâ—…d Scotish Subjects though â—…th of them oâ—…eraw'd and kept under â—…y the then Domineering Faction of the Sectaries The former of these had been in the Field for Charles the First agaâ—…nst his Two Houses of Parliament whom He by a Law of his own making having â—…ermitted to contiâ—…ue Theâ—…e as â—…uch whether for hâ—…m or 〈◊〉 him it was soon foun'd â—…y wâ—…ful experience that he had lâ—…st his Crown before a stroak was stâ—…uck The Cavaliers who were of the Nobility and Gentry of England and of whom yâ—…ur Lordship was one came in freely and generously adher'd to the King as theâ—…r Sovereign And yet which is dolorous to remember he lost his Life by a Mockery of Justice This was a Piece of Villany not to be Paralled in any Hâ—…story And Bishop Andreâ—…s has delivered as much in his Notes upâ—…n the Sixth Commandment Cap. 2. In these wâ—…rds Yet never any People in the World sayes he pretended by any Colour of Legal proceedings or shew of Mâ—…ck-Justice to touch the Life of a Prince c. Neither pâ—…ssibly could This have enter'd his Phansie had not the fresh death of Mary Queen of Scots and the Monumental Lines of a Prophetical Poet to be found in Arch-Bishop Spotwood's History suggested the Câ—…nsequences to his thoughts thus that since one Sovereign Prince had executed another equal to her self in Regalities the case might be when a People would do the like to their Prince Now the Cavaliers had not only lost their Estates by the Fortune of War but eâ—…en their Hopes also of ever being in a Condition to appear again by themselves for the Recovery of their own Losses or the Crown of England which fell with their Masters Head My Charity induceâ—… me to believe that the soberer part of the Presbyteriâ—…ns had been decoyed into a War with the Inâ—…cription of Loyalty upon their Armes and under the plausible pretencâ—… of Fighting for King and Parliament But however they lived to repent of the Felicities of them for having acted their parts too far they were forced to yield to more suâ—…til Enginiers of State who had a further game to play Bishops Lands not being Booty enough for so many sharers Thus themselves suffer'd as well as acted a Reformation and so went of the Stage Now though their Name was not so offensive to the then Parliament and Army as was that of the Cavaliere yet they still kept an Eye equally wakefull over them both Especially now upon their finding that they were neither of them capable of concealing their inward satisfaction at General Monk's Remonstrating against the Army in England And indeed their Hopes upon this Occasion were so luxuriant that some of them durst pray for his Success others not only Drink His Health but the Kings too and that Publickly Nay he had not Marched many days from hâ—…s cold Quarters on the North of Tweede his March being without orders too before the sound of Bells that welcomed us into England had filled the Ears even of his very Officers with the noise of Jealousies and Apprehensions touching the end of his making this long Journey And though they had learned the Duty of Soldiers not to Mutiny no nor so much as to expostulate with him yet it was evident that several of them deemed there was more in the Action then did openly appear But though the General was able to deal well enough with these yet could he not overcome those of his Masters at Westminster who did not well relish this hasty March even of their Restorer Yet they could not
that the General stood Engaged and from this time I do date that his Resolutions were fixed for the Kings Restauration So happy it was for His Majesty to employ Sir John Greenvile and so lucky for him to send his Clerk Mr. Nicholas Monk hither where he omitted nothing of his Instructions and prudently managed them as may reasonably be inferred from the good effect they had Thus did the sense of Allegiance and the Love of his Country prevail with his Brother against all hazzards And if I knew him right the revenge of slights was some part of a grain in the Scales It is not improbable neither that he had been in the Night quickned with a Curtain-Lecture of Damnation a Text that his Lady oft Preacâ—…ed upon to him and sometimes he would complain of it where he safely might Saturday came and brought Mr. Gumble to Dalkeith where now and then he used to give the General a Sermon or Two and so eased me for which I gave him thanks He was then one of the Chaplains of the â—…nto which Cromwel had Erected and which did act till the Deposition of Richard his Son nay the Officers were still continued upon that Establishment in expectation of what the Parliament would do in it Such a Cabal they found necessary for the support of their Usurpation and hereof the General from the time of its first Erection was nominated a Member So Mâ—… Gumble's imployment was such as made him well known beside that he was an acceptable Preacher and his Company much more so to very many Officers of Edenburgh where he resided and this the rather both to them and the General because he had not engaged into a Congregational Church as his Brother Chaplaine had done He was a strenuous asserter of Freedom and disrelished the single persons of Oliver and Richard Cromwel when they sate successively in the Throne of Usuâ—…pation he was somewhat better pleas'd at the return of the old Parliament but being of quick apprehension he soon discerned that those few Members of it would keep themselves within those Walls of Empire at Westminster and not suffer the Wheel to turn round and as a generous person did not dissemble his discontents but would speak them franckly and boldly enough to the General And this too was Sir George Booths quarrel So the General who knew how to make use of men after some conference with him made him his Minister of State And having received instructions how to proceed he came up to my Study where he found me then busie and alone So he bad me lay aside all thought of Preaching for to Morrow for he would undertake it for me Now at that time there happened to be other work upon my hands which required a quick Dispatch for I was transformed into a Secretary of State my province being to frame a Letter to the Parliament according to directions given which was to be sign'd by the General and such of the Officers as he could bring into this new design But Mr. Gumble said he was not fully satisfied of the grounds of the Generalls Engagement now after his Brother was come for he might have done that sooner and if he had I am confident that Mr. Gumble would not have been wanting on his part to serve the Publique But I told him that Mr. Nicholas Monks Journey was for his Daughter and it was necessary to try what his Brother would contribute towards her Marriage the match being to be with a Kinsman of theirs which the General had desired and approved So the motives of this Engagement being waved for Mr. Gumble did not insist upon them as a hindrance to the good cause in which he was resolved to embarque himself we proceeded to the finishing of the Letter to the Parliament which was that day done The next was the Lords day and the work of it was carried on by Mr. Gumble who in hâ—…s last Prayer put up a Petition for the good Intentions of the General which soon after were communicated in my Chamber whither came the General and his Brother Adjutant Smith and Mr. Gumble But before any discourse was enter'd upon I swore the General his hands being laid upon the Bible open in these words You 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 swear that you shall not reveal any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall be discoursed of by us or read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without the consent of all here present So he kissed the Book The rest I swore in order one by one after this manner You shall truly swear that you shall not reveal any thing that shall be discoursed of or read unto you without the consent of the General and all here present And lastly I â—…wore my self and I will be my own Casuist for publishing of this and keep the Bible for a Relique without feaâ—… of Superstition Our Declaration in deed but in form our Letter or Supplication to the Parliament was read 't is supposed to have been prefaced with good words clawing them for their glorious actions which we could not avoid doing But yet we took the liberty to mind them that we found the body of the English Nation disatisfied with their proceedings as apprehending that their Intention was to appropriate the Government to their Individual persons and that though there might possibly be â—…omething of danger in gratifying them for fear of the old Enemy yet however it did not appear to the good People who had fought for their Liberty that they had entertain'd any thought of the filling up of their Number much less done any thing toward the prescribing of Rules for the Future Elections of such Parliaments as were supposed to be contained under the name of a Common wealth which themselves owned to be the Supream Government and that otherwise their Armies could not protect them in their Authority this not being the good old Cause for which they fought and they could not answer to their consciences the effusion of so muâ—…h blood to uphold only a few men in their Sovereignty Wherefore to prevent the shedding of more we became Petitioners to them we said that they would speedily pass such votes and do such things as might satisfie all the honest and Gâ—…dly People in the Nation that they did not design their own greatness but the good and safety of the Common-wealth In the mean time the General declared that he would associate what force he could till he saw that their Votes and actions were satisfactory Here I confess that I have not related words but things for the Paper was the next day burnt because our design proved abortive This was the Substance of our intended Letter to the Parliament which having been read by me the General with his Confederates correcting or adding such expressions as were thought fit the Presenting of it to the Officers of our Army to signe as their humble Petition and Advice to the Parliament was resolved upon But theâ—… were to be Petitioners with Swords in their hands for the General