The Unfortunate Court-Favourites OF ENGLAND Exemplified In some Remarks upon the Lives Actions and Fatal Fall of divers Great Men who have been Favourites to several English Kings and Queens Namely I. Peirce Gaveston Earl of Cornwall II. Hugh Spencer Earl of Winchester â—II Hugh Spencer the Son E. of Glorester â—V Roger Mortimer Earl of March V. Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham VI. Thomas Woolsey Cardinal of York VII Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex VIII Robert Devereux Earl of Essex IX George Villiers Duke of Buckingham X. Thomas Wentworth Earl of Stafford By R. B. LONDON Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell in the Poultrey 〈◊〉 Cheapside 1695. The Kings and Queens of England to whom the following Unfortunate Great Men were Favourites I. PEirce Gaveston Earl of Cornwal Favourite to King Edward II. II III. Hugh Spencer the Father and Hugh Spencer the Son both Favourites to King Edward II. IV. Roger Mortimer Earl of March Favourite to Queen Isabel Widow to King Edward II. and Mother to King Edward III. V. Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham Favourite to King Richard III. VI. Thomas Woolsey Cardinal of York Favourite to King Henry VIII VII Thomas Cromwel Earl of Essex Favourite to King Henry VIII VIII Robert Devereux Earl of Essex Favourite to Queen Elizabeth IX George Villiers Duke of Buckingham Favourite to King Charles I. and King James I X. Thomas Wentworth Earl of Stafford Favourite to King Charles I. To the Reader NOthing is more obvious than that Ambition Envy and Emulation are the usual Attendants on the Courts of Princes and that the effects of them have been often very fatal to many Great Men who had the fortune to have a larger share in their Masters affections than others It is likewise as notorious That there are certain Crises of Government wherein Princes have been obliged to Sacrifice their darling Ministers either to their own safety or to the importunity of their People Lastly it is as evident That some Court-Favourites have justly merited the unhappy Fate they met with for their many Rapines Insolencies and Enormities as that others have been ruined meerly from the Caprichio or inconstant Temper of the Prince whom they served Of all these in my opinion the ensuing Favourites are pregnant Instances But I shall leave the Reader to particularise them according to his own Judgment and will only add That they are not all to be condemned as Criminal meerly because they all happened to be unfortunate R. B. Remarks on the Life Actions and Fatal Fall of Peirce Gavestone Earl of Cornwall and Favourite to King Edward the Second THAT Unhappy Prince Edward the 2d was certainly the most Unfortunate in his Favourites of any King of England either before or fince his Reign The first and Fatal Favourite he had was in his Youth before he came to the Crown whose name was Peirce Gaveston born in Gascoigne a Province of France and for the good Service performed by his Father in the Wars in that Kingdom his Son was taken into such Favour at Court that by K. Edward the First 's own appointment he was Educated and made a Companion to the young Prince And indeed his outward Accomplishments seemed to render him worthy of such great Honour being a Person of a sharp Wir an excellent Shape and of a valiant Temper of which he gave notable proof in a Battel against the Scots and for which they afterward bore him a mortal Hatred But all these worthy Qualities were utterly defac'd and clouded by his vicious Incliâ—ations so that as to his Christian and Moral Vertues which are only really commendable in Men Authors are very silent in mentioning them though all give large accounts of his Faults and Immoraâ—ities And King Edward was so sensible that his Son the Prince had been debauched by the corrupt Conversation of Gavestone that some time before his Death he was banished the Kingdom And upon his Death-bed commanding the Prince his Son to repair to him with all speed to Carlisle in Cumberland where he was with a great Army ready to invade Scotland He gave him many worthy Admonitions and much good Advice particularly That he should be merciful just and kind faithful in word and deed an incourager of those that were good and ready to relieve those that were in distress That he should be loving to his two Brothers Thomas and Edmund but especially to honour and respect his Mother Queen Margaret That upon pain of his Malediction and Curse he should not presume without common consent to recall Peirce Gavestone from Exile who for abusing his tender Years with wicked practices by common Decree of the Nobility was banished He also added a strange Injunction for a dying man namely That after his Death the Prince should not presume to take the Crown of England till he had honourably revenged the Injuries his Father had received from the Scots and finisht the present Expedition against them and that he should carry his Father's Bones about with him in a Coffin till he had marched through all Scotland and subdued all his Enemies assuring him that while they were with him he should be always victorious Lastly Whereas by the continual Attempts of Bruce King of Scotland he was prevented from performing his Vow of going in Person for the recovery of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Infidels that he should send his Heart thither accompanied with 140 Knights and their Retinue for whose support he had provided Thirty two thousand pounds of Silver That after his Heart was conveyed thither he hoped in God all things would prosper with them Adjuring the Prince upon pain of Eternal Damnation that he should not expend the Money upon any other use After these Admonitions and having taken an Oath of this vain Young Prince to perform his Will he gave up the Ghost After his Father's Death the Son soon made it appear how little regard he had to perform his dying Requests and to shew what his future Behaviour was like to be he in the first place revenged himself upon Walter Langton Bishop of Chester Lord Treasurer of England and Principal Executor of his Father's Last Will whom he imprisoned in Wallingford Castle seizing upon all his Estate no man daring to intercede on his behalf because of the extream hatred which the King shewed against him the Bishop's Crime being only in using a modest freedom in K. Edward's days in gravely reproving 〈…〉 for his 〈◊〉 meanours and not suffering him to have what 〈…〉 he required to waste prodigally upon his 〈…〉 Gavestone against whom he likewise made such great and just Complaints as occasioned the imprisonment of the Prince the banishment of his leud Favourite Soon after the young King married Isabel Daughter to Philip the Fair of France the March being concluded before his Father's death and was now performed with extraordinary Magnificence at Bullen At which Solemnity there were five Kings namely Philip the French King the
assured of their intent he appears to them in the Gallery to prevent any sinister practice against him The Duke of Buckingham with great reverence tells him That he hoped his Highness would pardon him in what he was going to declare in the behalf of the Lord Mayor and Nobility there present and after many circumstances proceeds to discover the cause of their coming That in regard of the urgent necessities of the Common-wealth they all humbly intreated him to take upon him the Government of the Kingdom in his own Right to whom they all tendered their Alleglance At which word the Protector started back as if extreamly surprized and passionately replied ' I little thought good Cousin that you of all Men would have moved me in a matter which of all things in the World I must decline Far be it from me to accept of that which without apparent wrong to the Children of my dear deceased Brother and my own upright Conscience I cannot well approve of And pretending to proceed in this dissembling Harangue the Duke seemed abruptly upon his Knees to stop him ' Since your Grace says he has been pleased to give free liberty to offer to you in the Name of this Great Assembly the free tender of their Obedience to you I must further add That it is unanimously concluded that your late Brother King Edward's Children as being generally known to be Illegitimate shall never be admitted to the Crown of England and therefore if your Grace shall neither regard your self nor us so far as to accept of the same we are fully determined to confer it upon some other of the House of Lancaster that will be more sensible of his own and our good â—hese words seemed to have such powerful effect upon the Protector 's mind that with a pretended change of countenance and feigned perturbation He replied ' Since I perceive the whole Kingdom are resolved by no means to admit my dear Nephews being but Children to Reign over them and since the Right of Succession justly belongs to me as the undoubted Heir of Richard Plantaginet Duke of York my Renowned Father We are contented to condescend to your Importunities and to accept the Regal Government of the Kingdom and will to the utmost of my power endeavour to procure and maintain the quiet and welfare thereof After this he came down from his Gallery and very formally Saluted them all which so pleased the giddy and inconstant Mobile that they presently shouted out Long live King Richard our Dread Soveraign Lord and so every Man departed Having thus Usurped the Soveraignty He was soon after Crowned Creating his Son Edward a Child of Ten years old Prince of Wales advancing several of the Nobility to higher Honours and Dignifying others And to shew his Clemency and good Nature several whom he suspected would have hindered his proceedings and had been therefore Imprisoned were now released but Morton Bishop of Ely who would never consent to the disinheriting King Edward's Children was committed to the custody of the Duke of Buckingham who secured him in his Castle of Brecknock in Wales And now King Richard with his Queen the Lady Ann Youngest Daughter of the Great Earl of Warwick and the Widow of Prince Edward Son to King Henry VI. whom he had newly Married made a progress to Glocester upon pretence of visiting the place of his former Honour But in truth to be absent while he had a special villany to be acted For though he had satisfied his Ambition by depriving his Nephews of their Livelyhood yet he could not remove his fears without taking away their Lives To perpetrate this villany he durst not use the assistance of his old Friend and Favourite the Duke of Buckingham as being sensible of his abhorrence thereof However it was too easie to find wicked Instruments for Money and upon inquiry he heard of two Brothers in his Court Sir Thomas and Sir James Tyrril the first of an honest sober temper but the other of a proud ambitious humour and ready to commit any wickedness for preferment Being told of this Man as he was at the Close-Stool he instantly rose and went to him whom he found more free to undertake the work than he was to imploy him so the bargain was soon made and nothing remained but an opportunity to effect it King Richard had before sent John Green one of his Privadoes to Sir Robert Brackenbury Lieutenant of the Tower to require him to do the deed he being raised by him but the Lieutenant declaring an absolute aversion thereto Good Lord says the King Whom can a Man trust So that finding he must be removed or else it was impossible to effect it he sends him an absolute Order by Sir James Tyrril immediately to deliver up the Keys of the Tower to him Tyrril being now Lieutenant for the time hires two Rascals like himself Giles Forest and James Leighton his Hostler a stout lusty fellow to join with him in the Murder of these Innocent Children who coming into their Chamber in the Night accompanied only with one Black Will or William Slaughter another bloody Villain they suddenly wrapt them up in the Bed-cloaths and keeping down the Pillow and Bed-cloaths with all their strength upon their Mouths they so stifled them that their breath failing they surrendred up their Innocent Souls to Heaven The Murtherers perceiving First by their strugling with the pangs of Death and then by their long lying still that they were thoroughly Dead they laid their Bodies out upon the Bed and then called Sir James to see them who presently caused their Bodies to be buried under the Stairs under a heap of Stones from whence they were afterward removed to a place of Christian Burial by a Priest of Sir Robert Brackenbury who dying soon after it was never known where they were laid which gave occasion to the Imposture in K. Henry VII Reign of Perkin Warbeck who pretended to be Richard Duke of York the Younger Brother that by the compassion of the Murtherers was saved and sent to seek his Fortune Others write that King Richard caused their Bodies to be taken up and being closed in Lead to be put into a Coffin full of holes hooked at the ends with Iron and so thrown into a place called the Black Deep at the Thames mouth to secure them from being ever seen or rising again But Divine Vengeance soon reached the Murtherers Miles Forrest rotting away alive peice meal at St. Martins Le Grand Leighton dyed at Callice detested of all Men and in great misery Sir James Tyrril was afterward Beheaded for Treason at Tower-Hill and King Richard himself after this execrable Fact never was quiet in mind being tormented with fearful Dreams starting out of his Bed and running about the Chamber with great horror as if all the Fiends in Hell had been about him to torture his vexed Soul And here we may observe That Confederacies in Evil seldom continue long but usually
kindness and affection for me I will freely unbosom my Thoughts to you After I observed the dissimulation and falshood of King Richard and especially when I heard of the Barbarous Murther of the two Young Princes to which God is my witness I never condescended I so much abhorr'd his presence and company that I left the Court upon a pretended excuse he not in the least perceiving my discontent and so returned to Brecknock to you In my return whether by Inspiration or Melancholy I was possest with many Imaginations and Contrivances how to deprive this Unnatural and Bloody Butcher of his Royal Seat and Dignity First I fancied that if I had a mind to take the Crown now was the time the Tyrant being so generally abhorred and detested of all Men and believing that I had the nearest right to the Succession In this imagination I continued two days at Tewksbury and was ruminating whether I was best to take upon me the Crown as Conqueror but I presently thought that then certainly both the Nobility and Commons would use their utmost Efforts against me But at length I happened on something that I did not doubt would have brought forth fair Flowers yet proved at length nothing but Weeds For I was thinking that Edmund Duke of Somerset my Grandfather was with Henry VI. within two or three degrees of John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and my Mother being Eldest Daughter to Duke Edmund I supposed my self to be next Heir to King Henry VI. of the House of Lancaster This Title was well pleasing to those whom I made of my Council but much more to my aspiring mind but while I was perplext whether it were best instantly to publish this my Right or wait some better opportunity observe what happened As I rid from Worcester to Bridgnorth I met the Lady Margaret Countess of Richmond now Wife to the Lord Stanley and Daughter and Sole Heir to John Duke of Somerset my Grandfather's Elder Brother whom I had as utterly forgot as if I had never known her so that she and her Son Henry Earl of Richmond have a Right before me By this I perceived my mistake and resolved to relinquish all Ambitious Thoughts and to endeavour the Establishment of the Earl of Richmond Right Heir of the House of Lancaster and that he should Marry the Lady Elizabeth Eldest Daughter to King Edward so that the two Roses might be hereby united And now said the Duke I have told you my whole Heart The Bishop was very glad that they had both hit upon the same design and extolling his well laid contrivance replied Since by your Graces incomparable prudence this Noble Conjunction is intended it will be necessary to consider who are fittest to be acquainted with it By my troth quoth the Duke we will begin with the Countess of Richmond the Earl's Mother who will inform us whether he be under Confinement or at Liberty in Brittain And thus was the Foundation of a League laid by these two Great Men which fully Revenged the Death of the two Innocent Princes And it was prosecuted with all Expedition one Reynold Bray being imployed by the Bishop to his Lady the Countess of Richmond Doctor Lewis the Dutchesses Physician was sent to Queen Elizabeth and two other Persons were ordered privately to wait upon the Earl of Richmond then in France and acquaint him with the Design and procure his consent to the intended Marriage Who coming to the Earl and giving him information of the Plot He thereupon discovers it to the Duke of Brittain who though by Hutton King Rich. Ambassador he had by many great offers been solicited to detain the Earl in Prison yet he readily promised and really offered him his utmost assistance Several Knights and Gentlemen were also brought into the Confederacy in England Bishop Morton though against the Earl's consent retires in disguise into the Isle of Ely where having prepared his Friends to espouse the Earl's Interest he went from thence to Brittain to him and continued there till the Earl when King sent for him home and made him Archbishop of Canterbury But though all was managed with the utmost Privacy and under Oaths of Secresie yet King Richard had made a discovery thereof but pretending Ignorance he sends for the Duke of Buckingham to come to him Which the Duke endeavouring to avoid by pretended excuses He at last peremptorily commands him to appear upon his Allegiance upon which the Duke returned this resolute Answer ' That ne owed no Allegiance to such a perjured inhumane Butcher of his own Flesh and Blood And so from that time preparations of War are made on each side The Duke had Assembled a good number of Welshman and the Marquess of Dorset having got out of Sanctuary was labouring to raise Forces in Yorkshire The two Courtneys were doing the same in Devonshire and Cornwall and the Lords Guilford and Rame in Kent King Richard sets forward with his Forces The Duke of Buckingham Marches to incounter him intending at Glocester to have past the Severn and joined the two Courtneys but the great Rains had so swelled the River that overflowing its Banks there was no Fording over This Inundation was so great that Men were drowned in their Beds Houses overturned Children carried about the Fields Swiming in Cradles and Beasts were drowned on Hills which rage of Water continued Ten days and is to this time in the Countreys adjacent called The Great Water or the Duke of Buckingham's Water The Welshmen were so affrighted with this accident that judging it an ill Omen they all secretly deserted him so that the Duke being alone without either Page or Footman retired to the House of one Humfrey Banister near Shrewsbury who having been advanced by him and his Father he thought himself safe under his roof But Banister upon King Richard's Proclamation of a reward of 1000. Pound to him that should discover the Duke Treacherously and perfidiously discovered him to John Mitton High Sheriff of Shropshire who took him in a Thread-bare Black Cloak walking in an Orchard behind the House and carried him to Shrewsbury where King Richard quartered and there without Arraignment or Legal Proceeding he was in the Market place Beheaded in 1484. Whether Banister received the proclaimed reward from King Richard's hand is uncertain but it is certain he received a reward of a Villain from the hand of Divine Justice for himself was after hanged for Manshughter his Eldest Daughter was Ravished by one of his Plowmen or as some say struck with a loathsome Leprosie his Eldest Son in a desperate Lunacy Murdered himself and his Younger Son was drowned in a small puddle of Water This was the fatal end of the Great Duke of Buckingham who went too far for a good Man in being accessary to the depriving the Innocent Princes of their Birth-right and declaring them Bastards But it seems he went not far enough for so bad a Man as King Richard because he would not
in the Morning they fell to rifling the Houses of several Foreigners but four or five hundred of them being seized by the Lord Mayor were committed to Prison and two hundred seventy eight were afterward indicted for High Treason but John Lincoln only was executed the King by the intercession of three Queens Katherine Queen of England and the French Queen and Queen of Scots his Sisters and by the persuasion of Cardinal VVoolsey without whose advice he would do nothing pardoning all the rest who being in number four hundred men and eleven women were brought by the Lord Mayor with Ropes about their Necks into VVestminster Hall where the Cardinal severely reprimanded the Lord Mayor and Aldermen for their negligence in not securing the peace of the City and then aggravated the high crime of the Prisoners who had justly deserved death Upon which they all cried to the King for mercy who thereupon told them That he would pardon them all which he had no sooner pronounced but the Prisoners gave a loud shout all at once throwing up their Halters toward the top of the Hall and so were dismissed and the Gibbets that had been set up in several parts of the City for their Execution were taken down and afterwards this was named The evil May Day About this time Maximilian the Emperor died and Charles V. his Son succeeded him in the Empire of Germany the Kingdom of Spain and the Low Countrys Upon which Cardinal VVoolsey was sent over to Bruges in Flanders to condole with and Congratulate the young Emperor who was then Resident there being furnisht for his Journey in all respects like a Great Prince his Attendants being clothed some in Crimson Velvet and Chains of Gold about their Necks Others in fine Scarlet edged with black Velvet and was received by the Emperor with as much honour as if he had been the King himself having the Great Seal of England with him which was always carried before him being served upon the knee by several English Noblemen and Gentlemen to the admiration of the Germans for his strange Pride and Insolence After which he returned into England in great Triumph being more in favâ—… with the King than before The French King Lewes being weary of the VVar with England and having a great Kindness for the Lady Mary King Henry's Sister sent Ambassadors to Treat of Peace and of a Marriage with her Both which were soon concluded and the Lady was sent to France and Crowned Queen at Paris the French declaring That they thought themselves the happiest People in the VVorld who had so good a King and fair a Queen to reign over them But King Lewes after twelve weeks converse with his most beautiful Lady died and his Brother Francis I. succeeded him who renewed the former amity between the two Kingdoms and for further confirmation of the same desired an enterview between them which the Cardinal persuaded the King to gratifie him in VVhereupon King Henry and his Queen attended by VVoolsey and a great number of Noblemen and Gentlemen sailed over to Callice and in a plain near Guisness a large Palace of Timber was framed where both the Kings met and imbraced each other with much seeming affection and where nothing was wanting as to Justs Turnaments and the other Princely Military Exercises of that age which were proper for such a Royal Assembly Soon after Charles the Emperor coming out of Spain to Sail into the Low Countrys landed at Dover where he was received and entertained by the Cardinal and King Henry went to Canterbury to meet with him and having sumptuously treated him for a few days the Emperor pursued his Voyage to Flanders in forty four men of VVar. A while after some differences happened between the French King and the Emperor to compose which Cardinal VVoolsey with some other Noblemen were sent but they not prevailing King Henry fell from the French King alledging that he had stirred up the Scots to make VVar with him but King Francis laid all the blame on the Cardinal's dissimulation and base treacherous practices However the VVar proceeded becteixt the two Kingdoms between the French King and the Duke of Bourbon insomuch that the Duke fled out of France to the Emperor to save his life the Cardinal having notice of it he contrived that he should be King Henry's General against the French King VVho thereupon raised a great Army against Burbon and drove him into the Town of Pavia in Italy where he was so closely besieged that he could get no Provisions the Cardinal being secretly corrupted by the French King to withhold his pay so that his Souldiers were ready to mutiny against their new General Hereupon finding his case desperate he resolved to attempt an escape and in the dead of the Night he sent part of his Forces to attack that part of the French Camp which was weakest himself marching out on the other side the City The Guards being weak and the Souldiers asleep it caused a very great disturbance among the French who turned their Cannon toward the Assaulters when Burbon falling unexpectedly upon the backs of them drove them from their Cannon which they turned upon themselves slew their Souldiers cut down their Tents and took Francis the French King Prisoner This great success so much incouraged these brave Germans that with their Imperial Ensigns displayed they marched to Florence and thence to Rome and gave three Assaults to the Walls thereof in one day in the last of which the Duke of Burbon was slain however his Army being commanded by the Prince of Orange and some other brave Generals the Popes Palace and the Castle of St. Angelo were taken and the Pope was made Prisoner with twenty four Cardinals that fled thither for security The City of Rome also was plundred where the Souldiers gained a very rich booty so that they were overloaden with valuable Jewels Plate and Money During the Siege the Souldiers would often Cloath a Man like the Pope and set him on Horseback with a Whore behind him who sometimes blest and sometimes curst as he rid along and whom the Souldiers called Antichrist The Cardinal hearing of the misfortune of his Father the Pope endeavoured by all means to induce K. Henry to declare War against the Emperour and to shew himself the Defender of the Church but the King replied ' My Lord I am more disturbed at this unhappy chance than my Tongue can express but whereas you say that I as Defender of the Faith ought to be concerned therein I do assure you my opinion is That this War between the Pope and the Emperor is not a War of Religion or for the Faith but for Temporal Possessions and Dominions and now Pope Clement is in the hands of Souldiers What can I do I can neither assist him with my Person nor my People cannot rescue him but if my Treasure will help him take what you think convenient Whereupon Woolsey took two hundred and
proved abortive and the Prince and Duke returning home again the K. declaring that unless the Emperor would restore the Palatinate taken from his Sâ—n in Law the Prince Palatine he would proceed no farther Which the K. of Spain declining to be concerned in the Treaty was totally dissolved to the great joy of all good Protestants The Duke gave the Parliament an account of the whole Transaction wherein he severely reflected upon the unfair and delusory practices of the Spanish Court which so incensed the Spanish Ambassadour that he sent to the K. to inform him that the Duke had some desperate design against his Life and that the least he could do against him would be to confine him to some of his Country Houses during Life the Prince being now fully ripe for Government This raised some jealousie in the old King so that the next time he saw Buckingham he cried ' Ah Stenny Stenny which was the Familiar name he always called him ' wilt thou kil me At which the Duke was at first amazed but finding afterward that a Spanish Jesuit was the Informer he told the King It was only their malice against him for breaking the match protesting his Innocency The K. was satisfied the Ambassador was his Enemy and that such an attempt could never be performed without the consent of the Prince whom the Ambassador reflected upon though he did not directly accuse him and He thought it so horrid and unnatural a design that he passed it by without any further notice But only in sending to the K. of Spain to defire justice of him against his Ambassadors false Accusation which he said wounded his Sons honour through Buck ingham's sides Soon after the Ambassador was recalled and for Forms sake had a little check given him but was in as much favour as ever Thus was this Information waved and the Duke so far re-established in favour that he doubted not but to crush all that opposed him and charged Cranfield Earl of Middlesex in Parliament with several mismanagements of the Revenue the Prince who was Buckingham's right hand joining with him in it The King being at New-Market to free himself from the noise of business hearing of it writ to the Prince ' That he should not take part with any Faction in Parliament against the Earl of Middlesex but be so indifferent that both parties might seek to him for if he bandied to remove old Servants the time would come that others would do as much by him This wise advice declared â—…eking ham to be a little declining in the King's favour or the King in his For if the King knew Buckingham to be the chief Prosecutor it looktill for the King to plead for him and if not there was not that intimacy between them as formerly However Cranfield's Actions were proved to be so dishonourable that he was sined severely and made uncapable of ever fitting in the House of Peers for the future Soon after the King died at Theobald's of a Tertian Ague as was then said and King Charles who in his Fathers Life time was linkt to the Duke now continued to receive him into an admired intimacy and dearness making him Partaker of all his Counsels and Cares and chief Conductor of his Affairs an example rare in this Nation to be the Favourite of two succeeding Princes But was not so fortunate as to Parliaments for though the last in King James's time had approved of his Conduct in breaking the Spanish Match yet the first Parliament of this King drawing up a Remonstrance of their Grievances inveighed against him in their Speeches as the chief occasion of all miscarriages in Government As the loss of the Royalty of the Narrow Seas by his mismanagement of the Office of Lord High Admiral His inriching himself and kindred to the impoverishing of the King and Crown His ill bestowing of Offices of Trust and Profit The increase of Popery occasioned by the Dukes Mother and Father in Law both Papists The scandalous sale of all Honours Offices and Imployments Ecclesiastical Military and Civil And his staying at home though Admiral when he should have commanded the Fleet which miscarried by his being absent In the same Parliament likewise the Earl of Bristol accused the Duke of High Treason and the Duke charged him with the same One of the Articles against Buckingham was ' That the Pope being informed of his inclination to the Catholick Religion sent the Duke a Bull in Parchment to perseade and incourage him to pervert the Prince of Wales After this the Parliament proceeded to Impeach the Duke upon 13 Articles of High Treason and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors one of which was his giving Porions and applying Plaisters to the late King James in his sickness without the advice and contrary to the directions of his sworn Physicians from whence proceeded drowths raving fainting and an intermitting Pulse which â—he King was so senfible of that being told by his Physâ—…ians that his Distemper increased by cold he replied ' No no it proceeds from that which I have from Buckingham The King was so angry at these ploceedings having cautioned them from medling with the Duke that he committed Sir Dudly Diggs who made the Prologue and Sir John Eliot the Epilogue of his Impeachment both Prisoners to the Tower After which the Duke gave in an answer to all the Articles charged against him as well of misimploying the Ship of Rochel as about the death of K. James wherein he acknowledges he did give the Potion to the King but it was by his own Order in presence of the King's Physitians who did not seem to diflike it some of them having tasted it And the Duke acquainting the King that some had reported that this Drink had made him worse and that he had given it him without advice the K. answered They are worse than Devils that say it However the Parliament proceeded with an Address to the K. for removing the D. from his Council and Presence and the House of Lords sent four Peers to intreat him to give audience to their whole House upon this Subject But the K. replied That his resolution was to hear no motion for that purpose but that he would Dissolve the Parliament which he did instantly by Commission which gave occasion to the People to utter their minds freely upon this Transaction After this the King declares VVar against France and 〈◊〉 Fleet being provided and an Army raised Buckingham is made both Admiral and General and lands his Army at the Isle of Rhee notwithstanding the opposition of the French both Horse and Foot whom the English defeated From whence they marched to St. Martin's and blockt up the Citadel But notwithstanding our Army at Land and 100 Sail of Ships at Sea yet the French got into the Harbour with relief of Provisions and afterward carried so great a supply into the Citadel that the Duke who had lain idle for many VVeeks being at length prevailed
Privy Council That the Parliament of England had forsaken the King and that in denying to supply him they had given him the advantage to supply himself by such ways as he should think fit and that he was not to suffer himself to be mastred by the frowardness of the People That he was very rigorous in levying the illegal Imposition of Shipmoney and Imprisoned divers Persons for not levying the same And a Great Loan of an hundred thousand pound being demanded of the City and some refusing to lend the Lord Mayoâ— and Aldermen were required to return their names which they with humility refusing to do the Earl said That they deserved to be put to fine and ransom and to be made examples and laid by the heels and that it would never be well till some of the Aldermen were hanged up That by wicked Counsel he had brought on the King excessive charges and then advised him to approve of two dangerous Projects To seize the Money in the Mint and to imbase his own Coin with a mixture of Brass That he had declared that Ireland was a conquered Nation and that the King might do with them what he pleased and speaking of the Charters of former Kings of England he said They were nothing worth and that he would neither have Law nor Lawyers question or dispute any of his Orders and that he would make all Ireland know that so long as he had the Government there any Act of State there made should be as binding to the Subject as an Act of Parliament That he did not only Tyrannize over the Bodies but over the Consciences of Men by forming and imposing a new and unusual Oath which because some Scots refused to take he fined and banished great numbers and called all that Nation Rebels and Traytors and said if ever he returned home from England he would root them out both stock and branch These and a multitude of other crimes he was charged to have committed both in Ireland and England Many of which he confest to be true but not with their aggravations Some he denied and others he extenuated and pleaded that though the whole were proved against him yet it did not amount to Treason Some of the Lords and Commons were of the same opinion Others urged That though he were not guilty of any of the Offences declared to be Treason by the 25 of Edward III. yet so great were his crimes that according to that Statute which impowers the Parliament to declare what is Treason they ought to be declared Treason At length it was concluded to proceed against him by way of Attainder which was much opposed likewise it being alleaged That no man could be convict of Treason but by the Letter of the Statute and the Lord Digby a Member of the House of Commons and an earnest Prosecutor of the Earl spake thus of it ' Mr. Speaker I am still of the same opinion and affections to the Earl Strafford I confidently believe him the most dangerous Minister and the most insupportable to free Subjects that can be found I believe his pâ—actices as high and as Tyrannical as any Subject ever ventured on and the malignity of them highly aggravated by those rare abilities of his whereof God hath given him the use but the Devil the application I believe him still the grand Apostate to the Common Wealth who must not expect to be pardoned in this World till he be dispatcht to the other I do not say but his Crimes may represent him a man as worthy to dye and perhaps worthier than many a Traytor and may justly direct us to enact that they shall be Treason for the future but God keep me from giving Judgment of Death on any man and to ruin his Posterity upon a Law made after the Crime is committed And by any Law yet made I do not believe he is guilty of Treason However the Bill of Attainder passed in the House of Commons and Mr. Sir John's endeavoured to satisfie the Lords in the reasonableness thereof to induce them to Pass it For said he though the proofs at the Trial were insufficient and nothing but Legal Evidence can prevail in Judicature yet by this way both Lords and Commons might proceed by the light of their own Consciences although no evidence were given at all And after many Aggravations of the Earl's Offences in subverting our Laws as he affirmed he concluded thus ' He that would not have had others have any Law should have none himself It is true we give Law to Hares and d ee because they be Beasts of Chase It was never accounted cruelty or foul play to knock Foxes or Wolves on the Head as they can be found because these be Beast of Prey The Warrenner sets Traps for Powl-cats and other Vermine for preservation of the Warren The Lords after this Speech shewing a greater propensity toward the Earl's condemnation than before the King having an account of it came next day to the House of Peers and sending for the House of Commons told them ' That Judgment being ready to pass on the Earl of Strafford he thought it necessary to declare his Conscience therein they being sensible that he had been present at the hearing this great Cause from one end to the other and yet that in his Conscience he could not condemn him of High Treason assuring them That he never intended to bring an Irish Army into England nor was ever advised by any body so to do That there was never any debate before him of the disloyalty of his English Subjects nor had he ever any suspicion of them That he was never Counselled by any to after all or any of the Laws of England since if any durst have been so impudent he should have made them examples to Posterity That he would be rightly understood for though in Conscience he could not condemn him of High Treason yet he could not clear him of such Misdemeanors as he did not think him fit to serve him or the Commonwealth hereafter in any Place or Trust no not so much as a Constable and therefore he hoped they would find out a way to satisfie Justice and their own fears and not oppress his Conscience since neither fear nor any other respect whatsoever should ever make him act against it This Speech relisht so ill with the two Houses that few of them attended next day being Sunday May 2. on the solemnity of the King 's Eldest Daughter Mary being Married to the Prince of Orange On Monday five or six thousand Apprentices and other tumultuous Citizens came down to Westminster to demand justice against the Earl of Strafford and Petitions subscribed with thousands of hands were presented to both Houses about redressing Grievances Soon after the Lords passed the Bill of Artainder but the King seemed very averse to Pass it and consulted both with Lawyers and Divines of the Lawfulness thereof The Bishop of Lincoln urged That the opinion
much grief but the two Dukes made so many protestations of their fidelity and care of his safety that they seemed to wonder at his being any way concerned Soon after the Lord Hastings sent a Messenger to the Archbishop of York then Lord Chancellor of England to signifie to him that he need not be disturbed at what happened assuring him that in a little while all would be well again I am sure replied the Archbishop Let it be as well as it will it will never be so well as we have seen it And presently after the Archbishop attended by all his Servants armed in the midst of the Night came to the distressed Queen whom he found sitting alone upon an heap of Rushes much disconsolate and in Tears whom he endeavoured to comfort by telling her That he had good hopes the matter would not be so bad as she suspected the Lord Hastings having by a Messenger sent on purpose assured him that all would end well ' Ah wretch quoth the Queen that man is one of those who endeavour to ruin me and my Family Madam quoth the Bishop pray be pacified for I will ingage that if they dare presume to Crown any but your Son whom they now have with them the next day we will Crown his Brother who is here with you And Madam I here deliver you the Great Seal which was committed to me by that Noble Prince your Husband and which I resign to you only for the use and benefit of your Son After which he departed and in his way home observed the River of Thames full of Boats with the Duke of Glocester's Servants watching to prevent any from going into Sanctuary without being first searcht and examined These proceedings were very distastful to many of the Nobility and Citizens doubting that all this was intended against the King's Person and to prevent his Coronation Whereupon they went armed about the streets and met together to consult of the common safety But the Lords of the Council being assembled the Archbishop of York fearing that he should be charged with want of understanding for delivering the Great Seal to the Queen without the King or Councils leave he privately sent for it again which being returned he brought it as usually into Council The Lord Hastings whose fidelity to the King was real assured the Lords that the Duke of Glocester was faithful and loyal to his Prince and that the Lord Rivers and Lord Richard with the other Knights were secured for some secret practices against the Dukes of Glocester and Buckingham and that the King should receive no damage thereby and that they should continue Prisoners no longer than till the whole matter was throughly examined before the King and Council He therefore advised the Lords not to judge of it before they had heard it nor to turn their private grudges and quarrels into publick contentions and thereby disturb the King's Coronation which might be of worse consequence than they could at present imagine For the Dukes were now coming to London to that purpose and if the Lords should take up Arms to oppose them they would be counted Rebels Since having the King in their Hands they would pretend his Authority to declare them so to be By these Arguments some of which he knew to be true and others not but chiefly by the near approach of the two Dukes to the City these commotions were pacified At the King's approach the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Sheriffs of London with five hundred Horse went as far as Hornsey to wait upon him and attended him from thence to London where he arrived May 4. 1483. And was Lodged in the Bishop's Palace A great Council was then held and the Dukes of Glocester and Buckingham with the rest of the Lords present swore Allegiance to the King and the Duke of Glocester carried himself so respectfully to him that all the former jealousies of his designing foul play vanished and he gained such reputation and credit with the Council that by their general consent and approbation he was chosen Protector of the King and Kingdom And thus was the Innocent Lamb delivered into the Custody of the Ravenous Wolf The Council severely check'd the Archbishop of York for so inconsiderately delivering the Great Seal to the Queen which was now taken from him and given to Dr. Russell Bishop of Lincoln one of the Honestest and Learnedst Men of that Time Several Knights and Gentlemen had Places bestowed upon them but the Lord Hastings kept his Office of Lord Chamberlain as formerly and so did divers others The Duke of Glocester knowing he could not finish his mischevious purposes without having the other Son Richard Duke of York in his hands for without them both he was as good have had neither Therefore as his actions had made the King Melancholly he now pretends that he ought to have his Brother's company to make him merry and at the next meeting of the Lords of the Council he represented to them That it was a very heinous 〈◊〉 in the Queen to keep the King's Brother in Sanctuary and not to let them come together and 〈◊〉 pleasure in each others conversation That it 〈◊〉 occasion the People to have ill thoughts of the 〈…〉 Councellors since the Queen durst not trust 〈…〉 Son in the hands or those who were 〈…〉 by the Peers of the 〈◊〉 to have the 〈◊〉 and Guardianship of the 〈◊〉 stoyal Person 〈…〉 and office consisted 〈…〉 in preserving him from Enemies or Poyson but in procuring for him such recreations and pleasures as were suitable to his Youth and Dignity and which he could not enjoy so properly in the company of Grave Councellors or Ancient Persons as in that of his own Dear Brother He therefore advised that the Archbishop of York might be sent to persuade the Queen to deliver her Son out of Sanctuary which would be so much to the advantage of the Young Duke the King 's most Noble Brother and after his Soveraign Lord himself his most Dear Nephew and might also prevent any sinister thoughts of the People concerning the Nobility and Council But if she continued obstinate and would not hearken to the Archbishop's Councel in this matter that then by the King's Authority he should be forcibly taken from her and brought to his Royal presence where he shall be so honourably received and treated that the World shall be convinced it was only the malice frowardness and folly of his Mother which occasioned his being kept in Prison so long already This subtil Speech had such effect upon the Council that they all concluded the motion to be just and reasonable And likewise comfortable and honourable both to the King and his Brother and would prevent Evil surmises provided the Queen could be induced quietly to deliver him The Archbishop undertook to use his utmost endeavours to incline her to it but added if she persisted in refusing it he thought it was not to be attempted against her
it is forbidden to a Priest but I never heard before that it was prohibited to a Prince and soon after he Married the Lady Elizabeth Grey Upon this Pretext the Protector would found the Bastardy of King Edward's Children That he had been formerly Contracted to the Lady Elizabeth Lucy though the Lady her self upon Examination acknowledged she had a Child by him but denied there was any Contract between them However upon this ground Doctor Shaw took for his Text Bastâ—… Plants shall take no deep root and in his Sermon 〈…〉 King Edward was never Lawfully Married to 〈◊〉 Queen but was before God Husband to the Lady Lucy and so his Children were Bastards adding that those in the Family had great jealousie that neither King Edward IV. himself nor his Brother the Duke of Clarence were begotten by his Father they much resembling other Persons in Court that were well known but that the Noble Prince Richard Lord Protector had the the very Lineaments Complexion and Countenance as well as the Courage and Magnanimity of the Renowned Richard Duke of York his Father Now it was contrived That at the uttering these words the Protector should have come in and appeared to the People that the Preacher's words and his presence thus corresponding it might be thought he had spoke them by the special Inspiration of the Holy Ghost But this trick failed for either by the Protector 's delay in coming or the Doctor 's haste in Preaching he had proceeded for some time upon other matters At length observing the Protector was coming he without order or reason diverted from the matter he was upon and began to repeat the same words again This is that Noble Prince the Father 's own Picture his own Face and the express Image of his Father's Person In the mean time the Protector with the Duke of Buckingham pressed through the crowd to the Pulpit and there sate to hear the Sermon But the People were so far from crying out God save King Richard as was expected That they cried shame on the Preacher for abusing his Calling to such vile purposes The Tuesday following the Duke of Buckingham with divers Lords and Knights came to Guildhall London and the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Commons being their assembled the Duke of Buckingham made a long Speech to them to this effect ' That the Lord Protector and the rest of the noble Peers were come to acquaint the worthy Citizens with a matter of great consequence and which they did not doubt would be very pleasing and acceptable to them A matter they had long in vain desired and which was â—bsolutely necessary to their welfare and happiness even the future security of their Lives Wives Children and Estates which had been all indangered by the ill government of the late King Edward IV. who by tricks and shams endangered their Lives and by â—…reasonable Taxes Pillings and Pollings to maintain his Riot and Prodigality wasted their Estates and what people he respected most appeared by his favours to Shore's Wife who in his Reign was more sought unto and managed greater affairs by her influence over his vain mind than the greatest Peer in England whereby he raised the hatred and ill will of the People both against himself and his Children He then reminded them of the Doctor 's Sermon the last Sunday who being a Preacher of God's Word had by his God's Authority declared the just Right and Title of the Protector to the Crown of this Realm which he doubted not but they would regard considering the honesty and wisdom of the Preacher beyond what he could say to them he having so clearly proved that King Edward was before Married to the Lady Elizabeth Lucy and that therefore his Children by the Lady Gray cannot be Legitimate so that for want of lawful Issue the Lord Richard had an undoubted Right and Title to the Crown by whose Renowned Virtues and Valour he did not doubt but the Kingdom would enjoy all happiness and be freed from that woe which the Wise Man pronounces that Nation to be subject too whose King is a Child All which the Lords of the Council having taken into consideration had thereupon agreed to accept of him for their King ' And now said the Duke I am come to acquaint you with it and to require your consents which I do not doubt but for your own benefit you will readily give both in electing so worthy a Prince and thereby also obliging his Majesty who will be kind to those who are most zealous for his advancement to the Throne Having ended his long Oration the People stood mute as admiring at the motion but none cried King Richard King Richard as was expected At which the Duke being amazed supposing the Lord Mayor had before informed and prepared the Common Hall he whispered to him to know the meaning of this sullen silence The Lord Mayor answered It may be they did not hear or at least understand what he had said Hereupon the Duke repeated the same words more audibly and earnestly but this obstinate silence still continued Then the Duke desired that the Recorder who usually spoke to the People might move them in it But the Recorder named Fitz Williams being an honest man and newly come to his Office repeated the Duke's words only without adding any of his own So that this nothing prevailed upon their resolved sullenness At last the Duke told them plainly That all the Nobility and Commons of the Realm were determined to chuse the Protector for their King as the true and undoubted Heir and that it was only out of respect and kindness to the Citizens that they had acquainted them with it desiring them freely to speak whether they would join with them in this Election or No. Upon this some of the Duke's Servants and others planted on purpose at the lower end of the Hall threw up their Caps and shouted aloud King Richard King Richard while the Citizens stood murmuring and inquiring among themselves what the meaning of it was However the Duke took the advantage of it as of an unanimous consent A goodly cry quoth he Giving them all thanks for their universal approbation promising he would acquaint the Protector with their great kindness toward him requiring the Lord Mayor and Citizens to meet the Protector the next Morning at Baynard's Castle Being met accordingly the Duke of Buckingham sends up word to the Lord Protector that the Lord Mayor and his Bretheren were come to present a supplication to him in a matter of great consequence The Protector though pre-acquainted with the matter yet pretended to admire what the business should be and though he did suspect no ill from any thing which the Duke of Buckingham should offer yet desired some hint of what it might be It was Answered That the business was to be communicated only to himself in person and therefore they humbly desired to be admitted into his presence Hereupon as if not well
wholly of Possessions of this nature or else were greatly inlarged by them and the restoration of them to their former uses was thereby rendred so impracticable that all the flaming zeal of Queen Mary for Popery was never able to effect any thing of that kind And this may be thought to have been one strong Barrier and Security of this Nation against Popish Slavery to this very day notwithstanding the many attempts that have since been made to reduce us back to that House of bondage The Churches being thus cleansed from rubbish the magnanimous Lord Cromwell resolved to place better Ornaments in them and therefore he sent out Injunctions requiring the Clergy to set up English Bibles in their Churches and to incourage all to read them Exhorting the People not to dispute about the sense of difficult places but to leave that to better Judgments Ministers were likewise commanded to instruct the People and to teach them the Creed the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments in English and that once every Quarter there should be a Sermon to declare the true Gospel of Christ and to exhort the People to works of Charity and not to trust to other mens Works to Pilgrimages or Relicks or telling their Beads which was only Superstition Also the folly of offering Candles to Images and that to make any use of Images in Divine Worship was Idolatry and the praying to Saints unnecessary These struck at some of the main Points of the former Superstition but the free use of the Scriptures gave the deadliest blow of all Yet all the Clergy submitted to them without murmuring The Death of Queen Ann Bullen who was beheaded some time before for several pretended Crimes which she utterly denied at the Scaffold and of which a great number of worthy men thought her Innocent gave fresh hopes to the Popish Clergy that a stop would have been put to any further Reformation of which she was reckoned a great promoter and inconrager And the Succession of the Crown being likewise altered by Parliament By whom Queen Mary was declared Illegitimate as born of Queen Katherine in unlawful Marriage and a new Oath imposed upon all the People to acknowledge the Children of the Queen Ann to be rightful Heirs to the Crown and she leaving one Daughter who was afterward the renowned Queen Elizabeth that Party had likewise expectations that she being dead the Lady Mary would succeed to the Crown to which end she was persuaded to submit her self to the King and own him as Supream Head of the Church of England which she had hitherto refused But within twenty days after this Tragedy was over the King Married the Lady Jane Seymour Daughter of Sr. John Seymour by whom he had the most excellent Prince Edward who succeeded him though within few days after the good Queen died The birth of a Son blasted the Papists expectations and therefore Gardiner Bonner and the rest of that Clergy seemed now very zealous in promoting the Injunctions that Cromwell had lately published Yet Gardiner still retaining a secret hatred against the Reformation he by his Artifices and Flatteries prevailed much with the King persuading him that his zeal against Heresie was the greatest advantage that his Cause in renouncing the Pope could have over all Europe Which meeting with the King 's own persuasion of the Corporal presence of Christ in the Sacrament caused him to sit in Person upon the Trial of one John Lambert a learned man who because he would not recant his opinion about Transubstantion was cruelly burnt in Smithfield and in the next Parliament an Act was made for making it death not to consent to the six Articles following which were after called the six bloody Articles I. That after the words of Consecration the Real and Natural Body and Blood of Christ was in the Sacrament II. That Communion in both kinds was not necessary to Salvation III. That Priests by the Laws of God ought not to Marry IV. That Vows of Chastity are to be observed V. That private Massies were agreeable to the Word of God VI. That Auricular Confession was necessary to be retained Against most of these Cranmer argued several days and Cromwell promoted Bonner to the Bishoprick of Hereford to be a faithful second to Cranmer in his Pious designs though he afterward proved a violent Persecutor and indeed Cranmer wanted support against the other Bishops who made great complaints of the rashness of the Protestant Preachers who were very furious against some things not yet abolished Upon which Letters were writ to the Bishops to take care that as the People should be rightly instructed so they should not be offended with too many Novelties Thus was Cranmer's interest so low that he had none but Cromwell to depend on There was not a Queen now in the King's Bosom to support them and the refusal of owning these Articles caused the death of many Protestants as the denying the King's Supremacy cut off several Papist so that at the same time Protestants were burnt on one side Smithfield and Papists hanged on the other which made Forreigners admire as not understanding what Religion King Henry was of Hereupon Cromwell contrived how the King should be ingaged in a nearer Alliance with the Protestant Princes of Germany with whom he had already setled a League and who was acknowledged its Patron he sending over an hundred thousand Crowns a year for the support of it all ingaging That they would join against the Pope as the Common Enemy and set up the true Religion according to the Gospel Now that the King might be prevailed upon both by Affection and Interest to carry on what he had thus begun Cromwell resolved to bring about a Match between the King and the Lady Ann Sister to William Duke of Cleve whose other Sister Frederick Duke of Saxony a very zealous Protestant had espoused And the King unwilling to live any longer a Widower both the Emperor and the King of France proposed Matches to him but Reasons of State inclined him powerfully to that with the Lady Ann. Her Father had before Treated with the Prince of Lorrain about Marrying her but it went no farther than a Contract between the two Fathers And the famous Painter Hans Holbin much favoured her in the Picture which was sent to the King who never liked the Original so well as he did that The Duke of Saxe dissuaded the Match because the King was going backward in the Reformation as appear'd by his enacting the six bloody Articles but Cromwell carried it on with the greatest vigor Some write that the Lady was handsome enough but could speak only Dutch which the King understood not neither had she learned Musick and was also so stiff in her Carriage as no way suited the King's temper However the Marriage was concluded and arriving at Rochester the King was so impatient to see her that he went thither incognito but was much dampt at first sight for he thought
with to Storm it was forced to retire and in his retreat had a great number of his Souldiers kill'd and drowned returning home with great disuonour Upon the return of the Fleet the Cry of the Nation was so great both for the Disgrace and the Seamen's want of Pay that the King was obliged to call a Parliamene which being met the Duke is declared the Grievance of Grievances and the Cause of all the miseries of the Kingdom But the King Proroguing the Parliament before they could proceed against him in the mean time Dr. Lamb the Duke's Creature is murthered in the City out of hatred to his Master And the Town of Rochel who had declared for the English when they were there being now closely besieged by the French The King had prepared a Fleet under the command of the Duke to relieve it who being advanced as far as Portsmouth to go aboard was slain by one Lieutenant Felton in his own Lodgings by one blow with a Knife under the left Rib and up to the Heart leaving the Knife in his Body and got away undiscovered In his fall to the Ground the Duke was heard to say The Villain has killed me Company coming in and finding him weltring in his Blood began to inquire for the Murtherer when Felton immediately stept out and said ' I am the man that have done the deed let no man suffer that is innocent VVhen he gave the fatal blow Felton cry'd The Lord have mercy upon thy Soul VVhich the Duke had not time to pronounce himself Felton had a Paper sticking to the Lining of his Hat wherein he had written as followeth ' I would have no man commend me for doing it but rather discommend themselves for if God had not taken away their Hearts for their Sins he had not gone so long unpunisht The man is cowardly base in mind opinion and deserves not the name of a Gentleman or Souldier that is unwilling to Sacrifice his Life for the Honour of God his King and Country Subscrib'd John Felton He confest to the Council that the motives to it were his want of pay his being disappointed of a Captains place which the Duke promised him Together with the late Remonstrance of the House of Commons against him A. B. Laud askt him whether the Puritans did not incite him to it which he denied or any body else VVell then said Laud we must make you confess your Accomplices on the Rack If you should said Felton it may be the torment would make me accuse you as soon as another So he was tried for murther and suffered very penitently at Tyburn and his Body was hung in Chains at Portsmouth in 1628. An Ingenious VVriter is much offended with Sir Henry VVotton for making a Parallel between the Earl of Essex aforementioned and the Duke of Buckinghim to be found in his remains which he says is much to the disadvantage of Essex who besides his last action never did any thing so ingrateful as might make him fear the anger or beg the favour of a Parliament much less owe his Life to the Dissolution of one He died like a Christian He was no instrument of Tyranny and Oppression his memory being still valuable among the People VVhereas the Duke's retains a contrary Tincture nor can his bounty to his Friends and Servants expunge his faults because the Money was drained either from the People the Publick Treasury or from the general safety of the Nation Whereas Essex obliged his Confidents out of his own store or by such innocent ways as the Subject had no cause to repine at His natural parts were as great and his Learning and Birth greater than the Dukes Nor can his last inconsiderate action that rather deserves the Title of a Riot than Treason come up to so great an ingratitude and indignity to the Nation as Buckingham's proceedings at Rochel wherein the Duke shewed no less folly in procuring so great a hatred among the People than Essex did in misapplying their love And if his Picture be exact Essex was as hand some as he which was the chief cause of Villers advancement Only in this Essex came short in having a Mistress that would attend to reason whether it came from friendship or malice Whereas the Dukes fortune depended on two Princes that in reference to their own weakness or his strongth remained deaf to all Complaints but what were made by him or his Creatures under pain of his high Displeasure which was usually much heavier than the King 's Concerning their Deaths saith my Author I can attest the Duke 's did occasion no lâ—… joy than the other did sorrow though the death of Queen Elizabeth her self be put into the Scale Nor was the Hangman willing to be hired to cut off Essex whereas Felton seemed to be inspired with some Daemon if not the Genius of our Nation Remarks on the Life Actions and Fatal Fall of Thomas Wentworth Earl of Strafford Favourite to King Charles I. THIS great Favourite was born in Chancery Lane London his Mother coming casually to the City but descended from an antient Family at Wentworth VVoodhouse in Yorkshire He was educated in St. John's College in Oxford whereby he was so accomplisht that his endowments soon advanced him to be a Member of the House of Commons wherein he appeared very zealous for the Liberties of his Country and that often with so much strength of reason that his Sentiments prevail'd for or against the Cause he managed Of which I shall give a few instances In the Parliament 3. Charles I. Upon a debate on the Grievances of the Kingdom by quartering Souldiers Loans Benevolence Privy Seals and Imprisoning Gentlemen that refused to lend Money on that account and were refused to be Bailed upon there Habeas Corpus he spake thus ' Surely these illegal ways are punishments and marks of indignation The raising of Loans strengthned by Commissions with unheard of Instructions and Oaths and the Billetting of Souldiers by Deputy Lieutenants have been such as if they could have persuaded Christian Princes that the right of Empires had been to take away mens Properties by strong hands These Projectors have introduced a Privy Council who have ravisht at once the Spheres of allantient Government shprisoning us without either Bail or Bond. They have taken from us what What shall I say indeed What have they left us The remedy I shall propound is To vindicate our antient vital Liberties by reinforcing the Laws made by our Ancestors by giving such a Character of them as no Licentious Spirit shall ever dare enter upon them hereafter Let 〈◊〉 secure our selves and our freedom from imprisonment Les us secure our Goods that no Levies be made but by Parliament no Bilseting of Souldiers If we are not secured in these we cannot give supplies I cannot forget that duty I owe to my Country and unless our Liberties be secured I incline to look upon the state of our Country whether it be