the State not much lamented and left in Legacy to his Son a discontented People an unnecessary expensive War an incumbred Revenue and an exhausted Treasury together with the Charge of his Grand-children by the Queen of Bohemia that were now divested of a large Patrimony deriv'd to them by a long Series of Illustrious Ancestors In fine he entail'd upon his Son all the Miseries that befel him and left in the minds of his Subjects those Sparks of Discontent that broke out some Years after into a Flame of Civil War which ended in the Ruin of King Charles and of the Monarchy with him This Prince His Character though his Father and Mother were esteemed the Handsomest Couple of the Age they liv'd in was himself but a Homely Person nor in any of his Features was to be found the least Resemblance of the Beautiful Mary Stuart or Lord Darnly No Prince had a more Liberal Education And it could not well be otherwise having the Celebrated Buchanan for his Tutor He was acquainted with most parts of Learning but valued himself upon his Knowledge in Divinity above the rest in which he writ some things that were much esteem'd at that time He writ and spoke well but in a Stile that border'd too much upon Pedantry which was indeed the common Fault of that Age. As to his Religion notwithstanding all his Advances to the Pope and Papists upon the account first of the Spanish and afterwards the French Match he was really Calvinist in most Points but that of Church-Government witness some of his Books and his Zeal for the Synod of Dort But as to Episcopacy he shew'd so much Learning and Reading in his Arguments for it at the Conference of Hampton-Court that Archbishop Whitgift said He was verily persuaded the King spake by the Spirit of God Notwithstanding his Mother was dethron'd to make room for him and consequently he could have no Right but the Consent of the People while she liv'd yet upon all occasions he was fond of being thought to have a Divine Right to the Crown His Courage was much suspected and some would ascribe his want of it to the Fright his Mother was in upon the Death of David Rizio The Troubles of his Youth were various occasion'd chiefly by Factions of Great Men that strove who should have the Management of him But when he came of Age he sought all occasions to be reveng'd upon such of them as were living and the Posterity of those that were dead Goury's Conspiracy being in it self so improbable a thing and attended with so many inconsistent Circumstances was disbeliev'd at the time it was said to have been attempted And Posterity has swallow'd down for a Truth what their Ancestors took for a mere Fiction He came to the Crown of England by Lineal Descent and the Verbal Designation of Queen Elizabeth upon her Death-bed And the Conspiracy wherewith Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh were charged to set him by the English Throne was no less Mystery than that of Goury's had been before The only uncontroverted Treason that happen'd in his Reign was the Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot. and yet the Letter to the Lord Mounteagle that pretended to discover it was but a Contrivance of his own the thing being discover'd to him before by Henry the Fourth of France through the means of Monsieur de Rhony after Duke of Sully King Henry paid dear for his Friendship to King Iames and there is reason to believe that it was upon this account among others that a Party of the Church of Rome employ'd Ravillac to murther that Great Man King Iames was equally happy and unhappy in every one of his Children The Character of Pr. Henry Prince Henry was the Darling of Mankind and a Youth of vast Hopes and wonderful Virtues but was too soon Man to be long-liv'd The Duke of Sully being in England to congratulate King Iames upon his Accession to the Crown laid the Foundation of a strict Friendship betwixt his Master and Prince Henry which was afterwards carried on by Letters and Messages till the Death of that King Though it 's a Secret to this day what was the real Design of all those vast Preparations that were made by Henry the Fourth for some time before his Death yet certain it is those Preparations were such as kept all Europe in suspense And I have seen some Papers that make it more than probable that Prince Henry was not only acquainted with the Secret but was engag'd in the Design But whatever it was it prov'd abortive by the Murther of that Excellent King just at the time when it was to have been declar'd his Army being ready to march Prince Henry surviv'd him but two years and dy'd universally lamented The World is very often willing to attribute the Untimely Death of Princes to unfair Practices and it was the general Rumour at that time that this Prince was poison'd Whatever was in it there is yet in Print a Sermon preach'd at St. Iames's upon the Dissolution of his Family that boldly insinuated some such thing And also Sir Francis Bacon Lord Chancellor of England in his Speech at the Trial of the Earl of Somerset had some Reflections upon the Intimacy of that Lord with Sir Thomas Overbury which seem to point that way insomuch that there were several Expressions left out of the printed Copy that were in the Speech But after all there is an Account in Print of what was observable upon the Opening of Prince Henry's Body under the Hand of Sir Theodore Mayerne and Five other Physicians Appendix Numb 5. from which there can be no Inference drawn that he was poyson'd The Second of King Iames's Children was the Princess Elizabeth Of Queen of Bohemia married to the Elector Palatine who was afterwards to his Ruin elected King of Bohemia It is hard to say whether the Virtues of this Lady or her Misfortunes were greater for as she was one of the best of Women she may be likewise reckon'd in the number of the most unfortunate King Iames thought to retrieve his Son-in-law's lost Fortune by the way of Treaty but in that and in every thing else the House of Austria outwitted him so that the poor Prince Palatine gain'd nothing by his Alliance with England but the hard Fate to be abandon'd by those whose Honour and Interest it was to support him Nor had the Crown of England any share in the Honour of re-establishing the Palatine Family which happen'd Thirty Years after for at the time of the Treaty of Munster when that matter was setled King Charles the First was so far from being in a condition to mediate for his Friends that he was himself a Prisoner to those very Enemies that in a few Months after the signing of that Treaty took his Life Of whom being the Youngest of King Iames's Children and of his Misfortunes there will be too much occasion to speak in the following
egregiously imposâ—d upon for there was no way to come at the Town but through Parts of Germany that were in the hands of Spain and so the Spaniards continued Masters of Frankendale When several other Princes were some time after upon entring into a League for Restitution of the Palatinate and the House of Austria was beginning to doubt the Success Gundomar play'd another Engine to break their Measures by proposing a Match with the Infanta of Spain for the Prince of Wales as the easiest and surest way to restore the Palatine Family which like all the rest was only to amuse King Iames and was equally unsuccessful It were too long to give the Detail of King Iames's Conduct in this Affair which was all of a piece The Author sums up the ills that attended it in this That thereby the Protestant Religion was entirely rooted out of Bohemia the Electoral Dignity transferr'd from the Palatine Family the Palatinate it self lost the Liberty of Germany overthrown and which he mentions with a sensible Regret the famous Library of Heidelburgh was carried to Rome to the irreparable Prejudice of Learning So that Gundomar had good reason to say in one of his Letters to the Duke of Lerma printed in the History of that Duke's Life That he had lull'd King James so fast asleep that he hop'd neither the Cries of his Daughter nor her Children nor the repeated Sollicitations of his Parliament and Subjects in their behalf should be able to awaken him There are two Passages more very observable in this Author The Court of Spain finding King Iames had broke off the Spanish Match and was brought to see how egregiously he had been abus'd in it they ventur'd upon a bold Attempt to trouble his Affairs by whispering in his Ears some things to make him jealous of his Son And that a good while after when King Charles and his Parliament were entring upon vigorous Measures to espouse the Palatine Cause they found ways to sow Divisions between him and his People that in progress of time broke out into a Civil War The latter needs no Commentary and the former is sufficiently explain'd Hacket's Life of Bâ— William by what a late Author has writ in the Life of Bishop Williams concerning that Prelate's being instrumental in making up some secret differences betwixt King Iames and his Son the Prince of Wales a little before King Iames's Death Spanhemius sums up what relates to this Affair with this Remark That never Prince was more oblig'd to a Sister than King Charles the First was to the Queen of Bohemia since it was only the Consideration of her and her Children who were then the next Heirs to the Crown of England that prevail'd with the Court of Spain to permit him to see England again As in most Foreign Transactions King Iames was unhappy In the Interdict of Venice so more particularly in the difference between Pope Paul V. and the Venetians There appear'd at that time a wonderful Disposition in that State to work a Reformation in the Church and throw off the Papal Yoke In order to advance it King Iames dispatch'd Sir Henry Wotton his Ambassador to Venice and hearing that Spain had declar'd for the Pope he declar'd for the Venetians and acquainted Iustiniani their Ambassador in England That he would not only assist Them with all the Forces of his Kingdom but engage all his Allies in their Defence At Sir Henry Wotton's Arrival the Breach between the Pope and the Republick was brought very near a Crisis so that a total Separation was expected not only from the Court but the Church of Rome which was set on by the Learned Padre Paulo and the Seven Divines of the State with much Zeal and conducted with as great Prudence The Ambassador at his Audience offer'd all possible Assistance in his Master's Name and accus'd the Pope and Papacy of being the chief Authors of all the Mischiefs in Christendom This was receiv'd with great Deference and Respect to King Iames And when the Pope's Nuncio objected That King Iames was not a Catholick and so was not to be rely'd upon the Doge took him up briskly and told him That the King of England believ'd in Iesus Christ but he did not know in whom some others believ'd King Iames had sent with Wotton his Premonition to all Christian Princes and States translated into Latin to be presented to the Senate which Padre Paulo and the other Divines press'd might be done at his first Audience telling him they were confident it would have a very good effect The Ambassador could not be prevail'd with alledging he had positive Orders to wait till St. Iames's Day which was not far off This Conceit of presenting K. Iames's Book on St. Iames's Day spoil'd all for before that day came the Difference was made up and that happy Opportunity lost So that when he had his Audience on St. Iames's Day and had presented the Book all the Answer he got was That they thank'd the King of England for his good will but they were now reconcil'd to the Pope and that therefore they were resolv'd not to admit of any Change in their Religion according to their Agreement with the Court of Rome How little Reputation he acquir'd in the Matter of the Venetian Interdict appears yet more plainly in this That in all the numerous Collections we have of Letters that pass'd on that Subject between the Cardinals of Ioyeuse and Perron the Marquis de Fresnes and Henry IV. there is not the least notice taken of King Iames or his Embassy To have done with King Iames it was said That he divided his time betwixt his Standish his Bottle and his Hunting The last had his fair Weather the two former his dull and cloudy and therefore that it was no wonder his Writings were so variable and that after he had pleaded for Witchcraft and the Pope's being Antichrist Somerset's Affair and the Spanish Match cur'd him of both After having enjoy'd for the most part of his Life a firm Health he died of a Quartan Ague in the Fifty ninth Year of his Age and with such suspicious Circumstances as gave occasion of Enquiry into the manner of his Death in the two first Parliaments that were call'd by his Son all which came to nothing by reason of their sudden Dissolutions King Charles the First came to the Crown under all the Disadvantages that have been mention'd The Reign of King Charlâ—s I. and yet the Nation might have hop'd that their Condition would be mended under a Prince of so much Virtue as indeed he was if the Seeds of Discontent which were sown in his Father's time had not every day taken deeper Root and acquir'd new Growth through the Ill Management of his Ministers rather than any Wilful Errors of his own Some of them drove so fast that it was no wonder the Wheels and Chariot broke And it was in great part to the indiscreet Zeal of a
nothing short of Strafford or Falkland the Two most Celebrated Pens of that time As to his Religion he was Protestant and in the strictest sense of the Church of England and for the Divine Right of Episcopacy But his consenting personally to the total Abolition of that Order in Scotland does not well agree with this part of his Character especially considering his repeated Protestations at the Treaties of Vxbridge and Newport That he could not supersede it but for a time in England What his Opinion was about Subjects defending their Religion and Liberties by Force of Arms appear'd in the business of Rochell For though some would have had us believe of late That Defensive Arms were inconsistent with the Principles of the Church of England it 's hop'd they will not deny but King Charles I. understood the Doctrine and Principles of that Church as well as any other Person can pretend to do and yet its certain that in his Practice and Declarations he allow'd of the People of Rochell's vindicating their Religion and Liberties from the Encroachments made by their Sovereign and that by Force of Arms and assisted them in so doing King Charles did not only assist the Rochellers after the War was actually begun His assisting the Rochellers but we have reason to believe that he encourag'd them to it at first if we look into the Duke of Rhoan 's Memoirs and Apology where that Great Man acquaints the World in what manner he was brought into that War in these words as near as I can translate them from the Original When all our Privileges says he were violated and our Religion brought to Ruin and the City of Rochell in the greatest Danger I could see no possibility to escape but was upon the sad thoughts of submitting our selves to the Mercy of the King meaning Lewis the XIIIth Being in this desperate state there came a Gentleman to me from the King of England who told me from his Master That he seeing our Privileges were violated and our Religion in danger of being subverted had taken compassion on our Sufferings and thought himself oblig'd in Honour and Conscience to assist and protect us which he was resolv'd to do by employing all his Kingdoms and his own Person in so just a War Provided we would join our Arms with his and not enter into any Treaty with the King meaning the French King without him and for that effect he would make War against the French King both by Sea and Land Intreating me continues the Duke of Rhoan not to abandon my Party in so just and honourable a War And a little after in the same Apology he has these words I refer it to all the World if I can be justly call'd the Author of the Third War considering I was sollicited to it by the King of Great Britain But suppose there were no Credit to be given to the Duke of Rhoan whose Honour and Veracity even his very Enemies never call'd in question and suppose it were false which all the World knows to be true that King Charles did actually assist the Rochellers again and again against their Prince yet we have Authentick Accounts of several Speeches made by the Duke of Buckingham's Secretary to the Rochellers and of several Messages sent to them from the Duke in name of the King his Master all to the same purpose And likewise a Manifesto publish'd by him and sign'd with his own Hand dated Iuly 21. 1627. aboard the Admiral Ship in which he has this Expression No private Interest says he has oblig'd my Master to make War against the French King but merely the Defence of the Protestant Church My Master's design is the Re-establishment of the Church their Good is his Interest and their Contentment his End We have also Authentick Copies of the League betwixt King Charles and the People of Rochell in which there is this Expression That the Rochellers may be deliver'd from the Oppressions they groan under And to sum up all there were two Letters writ by King Charles with his own Hand to the Rochellers which are mention'd by Monsieur Mervault a Syndic of that Town and who was active in the whole matter and present during the whole Siege of which the Copies follow To the Mayor Sheriffs Peers and Burgesses of the City of Rochell Gentlemen BE not discouraged though my Fleet be return'd Hold out to the last for I am resolv'd that my whole Fleet shall perish rather than you be not reliev'd For this effect I have order'd It to return back to your Coasts and am sending several Ships to reinforce it With the Help of God the Success shall be happy for you At Westminster May 19. O. S. 1628. Your Good Friend CHARLES R. The other Letter directed as before runs thus Gentlemen I Have been very much troubled to hear that my Fleet was upon the point of returning home without obeying my Orders in supplying you with Provisions cost what it will I have commanded them to return to your Road and not to come away until you are supply'd or at least till they are reinforc'd which I have order'd to be done with all diligence Assure your selves That I shall never abandon you and that I shall employ the whole Power of my Kingdom for your deliverance until God assist me to obtain for you an assured Peace Given at our Palace of Westminster May 27. O. S. 1628. Your Good Friend CHARLES R. I have dwelt the longer upon this Subject because it is easy to draw a Parallel betwixt this Case of King Charles's assisting Subjects against their King in the Defence of their Religion and Liberties and that of another Prince's doing the same upon a late occasion But as the former had no other Right to interpose in the one but the common Interest of Religion so the other had over and above that the Right of a Prince of the Blood and the Interest of the Presumptive Heir of the Crown all which alter'd the Case greatly to the advantage of the latter King Charles was as unfortunate in this War with France as he was in all others he engag'd in The poor City of Rochell after a long and Cruel Siege amidst the Horrors of Famine and Death was at last forc'd to submit to the Will of the Conqueror and the loss of that Bulwark of the French Liberty was in some time follow'd by the total Ruin of the Protestant Interest in France The English Fleet lay within view of the Town when it was taken and which added to the Misfortune that mighty Dyke that had been rais'd at inestimable Charges to block up the Harbour fell down the very next day after the Surrender and open'd a Passage for the Fleet that came to relieve it when it was now too late During this War he lost his Favourite The Character of the D of Buckingham George Villiers Duke of Buckingham This Gentleman was one of the greatest Prodigies of Fortune that
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
so great moment and consequence to the whole Nation that they could not in Prudence Honour or Conscience so far make themselves Parties to it as the distribution of it all over the Kingdom and the solemn Publication of it even in Gods House and in the Time of his Divine Service must amount to in common and reasonable Construction Therefore did humbly and earnestly beseech his Majesty That he would be graciously pleas'd not to insist upon their Distributing and Reading the said Declaration This Petition tho the humblest that could be and deliver'd by Six of them to the King alone in his Closet was so highly resented that the Six Bishops that presented it and the Archbishop of Canterbury that writ it but was not present at its delivery were committed Prisoners to the Tower They were a few days after brought to the King-Bench Bar and Indicted of a High Misdemeanor for having falsly unlawfuly maliciously seditiously and scandalously fram'd compos'd and writ a false malicious pernicious and seditious Libel concerning the King and his Royal Declaration for Liberty of Conscience under the pretence of a Petition And that they had publish'd the same in presence of the King There was a great Appearance at this Trial and it was a Leading Case for upon it depended in a great measure the Fate of the rest of the Clergy of the Church of England It lasted long and in the end the Seven Bishops were Acquitted with the Acclamations of all but the Court-Party There were two things very remarkable in this Trial The Dispensing Power was learnedly and boldly argued against by the Counsel for the Bishops and demonstrated by invincible Arguments to be an open Violation of the Laws and Constitution of the Kingdom So that in one of the greatest Auditories that was ever seen in Westminster-Hall and upon hearing one of the most Solemn Causes that was ever Tried at the Kings-Bench-Bar King Iames had the Mortification to see his new-assum'd Prerogative baffled and its Illegality expos'd to the World The other thing observable upon this Trial was That the Tables were so far turn'd that some that had largely contributed to the Enslaving their Countrey with false Notions of Law were now of another Opinion While at the same time others that had stood up for the Liberty of their Countrey in two successive Parliaments and had suffer'd upon that account did now as much endeavour to stretch the Prerogative beyond its just Limits as they had oppos'd it before So hard it is for Mankind to be in all times and upon all turns constant to themselves The News of the Bishops being acquitted was receiv'd with the highest Expressions of Joy throughout the whole Kingdom Nor could the King 's own Presence prevent his Army that was then encamp'd at Hounslow-Heath from mixing their loud Acclamations with the rest This last Mortification might have prevented his Fate if his Ears had been open to any but a Hot Party that were positively resolv'd to push for all cost what it would And it was easily seen by the Soldiers Behaviour upon this occasion How impossible it is to debauch an English Army from their Love to their Countrey and their Religion While the Bishops were in the Tower the Roman-Catholicks had their Hope 's â—rown'd with the Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales The fears of a Protestant Successor had been the only Allay that render'd their Prosperity less perfect Now the happiness of having an Heir to the Crown to be bred up in their own Religion quash'd all those Fears and atonâ—d for the Uncertainty of the King's Life It was so much their Interest to have one and there were so many Circumstances that seem'd to render his Birth suspicious that the Nation in general were inclinable to believe that this was the last Effort of the Party to accomplish our Ruin All things seem'd now to conspire towards it A new Parliament design'd and to what End There was only a Parliament wanting to ratify and approve all the Illegal Steps that had been made which was to be done effectually by taking off the Penal Laws and Test the two chief Barriers of our Religion To obtain such a Parliament no Stone was left unturn'd nor no Threaâ—s nor Promises neglected Regulators were sent-down to every Corporation to model them to this end though a great part of their Work had been done to their hand for in most of the New Charters there had been such Regulations made and such sort of Men put in as was thought would make all sure But to be yet surer Closetting in fashion and to try the Inclinations of People Closetting came into fashion and King Iames was at pains to sound every man's mind how far he might depend upon him for his concurrence with those Designs If they did not readily promise to serve the King in his own way which was the distinguishing word at that time there was some Brand put upon them and they were turn'd out of Place if they had any Nor did King Iames think it below his Dignity after the Priests had fail'd to bring in New Converts to try himself how far his own Arguments might prevail and he Closetted men for that purpose too Some few of no Principles and a great many others of desperate Fortunes complimented him with their Religion and were generally thereupon put into Employments And so fond was the King of making Proselites at any rate that there were of the Scum of the People that pretended to turn Papists merely for the sake of a Weekly small Allowance which was regularly paid them It 's a question after all whether the Parliament which K. Iames was thus labouring to model would have answer'd his Expectation had they come to sit for mens eyes were open'd more and more every day and the Noble Principles of English Liberty began to kindle afresh in the Nation notwithstanding all the endeavours had been usâ—d of a long time to extinguish them Though the Dissenters who might be chosen into Parliament upon this new Model would probably have made Terms for themselves to prevent their falling under any future Persecution yet being as a verse to Popery as any others whatsoever it is not to be imagin'd that they would upon that Consideration have unhindg'd the Constitution of England to enable the Roman Catholicks to break in upon the Establish'd National Church which in the end must have inevitably ruin'd both it and themselves But there fell out a little before this time an Accident that help'd mightily to buoy up the sinking Spirits of the Nation and which was occasion'd by the forward Zeal of some about the King contrary to their Intentions While the Project was going on to take off the Penal Laws and Test and the Protestants were in a maze what to expect the good Genius of England and King Iamâ—s's ill Fate set him on to make a Trial of the
Author Notwithstanding these Difficulties and Discouragements that seem'd insuperable wonderful and surprizing were the Consequences of the Prince of Orange's Restoration As if that Family alone were design'd of Heaven to be the Founder and Restorer of Holland It fell out that immediately upon his being call'd to the Helm the whole Scene of their Affairs chang'd to the better At the Head of a small ill-disciplin'd Army discourag'd by continual Losses he not only put a Stop to the French Conquests but by taking first Naerden in spite of an Army near four times greater than his own and carrying afterwards the War out of his own Countrey he oblig'd the Enemy to abandon their Conquests in Holland as fast as they had gain'd them and be contented to retire to the Defence of their own Frontiers This War was attended with various Successes on all sides and most of the Princes of Europe came to be some way or other engag'd in it till at last it ended in the Treaty of Nimeguen The part King Charles acted in all these Transactions contributed but little to his Glory for he had been unsuccessful while he was engag'd in the War and when he came to be a Mediator for the Peace all Parties grew jealous of him and neglected him It was during the Course of this War as has been said before that King Charles aton'd for all the Errors of his Reign by marrying his Niece the Lady Mary to the Prince of Orange And whatever were the Motives that induc'd him to comply in this with the Universal Wishes of his People it has been found since that not only England but the greatest part of Europe do share at this day in the Blessings that have attended it By this Match the Prince of Orange had a double Interest in England both as a Prince of the Blood himself and in Right of his Princess the next Presumptive Heir He liv'd with King Charles in as much Friendship as was possible for one that would not enter into an Interest separate from that of his Country or of England Insomuch that in all the Endeavours that were made to exclude the Duke of York from the Crown he look'd on without espousing any of the Parties that struggled for or against the Bill of Exclusion though he knew it was design'd that He and the Princess should succeed upon the Death of King Charles When King Iames came to the Throne the Prince of Orange tried all possible means to cultivate a sincere Friendship with him and to persuade him to enter into such Measures as might tend to the Common Safety of Europe and the Happiness of England which if King Iames had given Ear to would have preserv'd the Crown upon his Head And so cautious was he of giving him no reasonable ground of Complaint that though in King Charles's time he had given a Generous Welcome to the Duke of Monmouth at the Request of that King upon his retiring to Holland Yet as soon as he knew that that unhappy Gentleman designâ—d to invade England upon King Iames's Accession to the Throne he offer'd to come over in Person to his Assistance and sent him with all Expedition the English and Scotch Troops that were in the Service of the States It had been happy for King Iames if he had complied with the Advice of the Prince of Orange or had not by his Success against Monmouth been push'd on to make the Steps that have bee mention'd together with a great many more for Brevity's sake here omitted towards his own Ruin and that of the Constitution of England But being flatter'd with the gaudy Charms of Absolute Power and the empty Merit of Restoring the Romish Religion he drove on without Controul till at last he forc'd the People of England upon an inevitable necessity of calling in the Prince of Orange to retrieve the expiring Liberties of their Countrey At the same time an indissoluble Friendship and Alliance which King Iames had enter'd into when Duke of York and had cultivated afterwards when he came to the Crown was a matter of that vast Consequence to the Neighbouring Princes and States as would not permit them to stand by as unconcern'd Spectators of the Scene that was acting in England but oblig'd them likewise to save recourse to the Prince of Orange for breaking off their own Fetters by breaking first those of England But by what Steps and concurring Accidents and with what surprizing Circumstances this Mighty Design came about may some time or other though perhaps not so properly in this Age be the Subject of a Second Part when it meets with one of more Leisure and Capacity to write it FINIS Addenda ad Page 36. Concerning the Reign of King James I. It may not be impertinent in this place to say something of that Convocation that was held in the beginning of this King's Reign Which had never been taken notice of in History if it were not for the use that was made of it in our late Debates about the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his present Majesty This Convocation goes under the name of Overall's Convocation and has been of late years often mentioned in Print upon that account And since a very Learned Divine has told us upon a solemn Occasion Dr. Sherlock That it was the Canons of this Convocation that first Enlightned his Eyes and persuaded him of the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his Majesty I shall only take notice of a few things about them It 's very probable that this Convocation was call'd to clear some Doubts that King Iames might have had about the Lawfulness of the Hollanders the 〈…〉 off the Monarchy of Spain 〈…〉 withdrawing for good and all their Allegiance to that Crown Which was the Great Matter then in Agitation in most Courts of Christendom It appears plainly by some of those Canons that the Highflown Notions of Prerogative and Absolute Obedience which came afterwards into fashion were not much known at that time at least the Clergy were not of that Opinion It 's true This was the first time that the Distinction of a King de jure and de facto was ever mention'd as a Point of Divinity or a Doctrine of the Church though it had been taken notice of before and that but once as a Matter of Law in an Act of Parliament of Henry 7. But these Canons did never receive the Royal Approbation and therefore are in the same case as if they had never been King Iames thought these Points too nice to be much touch'd upon and was highly displeas'd with the Members of that Convocation for medling in Matters which he thought were without their Sphere Thereupon he writ that angry Letter to Dr. Abbot afterwards Bishop of Sarum the Original of which it was my fortune to fall upon and to publish upon another Occasion It 's hop'd the Reader will not be displeas'd to read it again And it runs thus Good Doctor Abbot I Cannot abstain
regret the Hard Usage which the Protestants meet with in other Countries and wish they were but as well treated there as the Roman-Catholicks are here Before I have done I beg leave to take notice of a Pamphlet that came out last Summer call'd Cursory Remarks upon the Proceedings of the Last Session of Parliament The Gentleman that wrote it had not only the Honesty to publish an Answer to his own Book but in that Answer to insinuate that I was the Author of it All the Use I shall make of this unusual Liberty of the Press is to declare That I have not publish'd any one Paper Pamphlet or Book these Six Years And though I have but little Leisure and yet less Inclination to appear again in Print yet if ever I alter my Resolution and publish any thing hereafter I will certainly put my Name to it as I have done to these Memoirs THE CONTENTS THE Excellencies of the English Constitution and the various Changes that have happen'd in it Page 1 The State of England under Queen Elizabeth 3 Her Character 5 The Character of her Ministers particularly of Walsingham Cecil c. and of the Members of the House of Commons in her time 8 Her Conduct towards Mary Queen of Scots 15 King James the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England under his Reign 19 His Character 20 The Character and Deathof Prince Henry 23 The Character of the Queen of Bohemia and King James's Conduct in the Business of the Palatinate 27 The Fate of Sir Walter Raleigh 28 King James's Conduct in teh Interdict of Venice 34 King Charles the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England at that time 37 The Breach betwixt Archbishop Abbot and Bishop Laud 38 The Rise of King Charles's Troubles and the first and second War with the Scots 41 The meeting of the Parliament November 1640. 45 The Fall and Character of Wentworth Earl of Strafford 47 The Fall and Character of Archbishop Laud 55 The Famous Petition and Remonstrance of the state of the Nation and the King's Answer 61 His coming to the House of Commons in Person to demand the Five Members and the Consequences of it 63 His Leaving the Parliament and the beginning of the Civil Wars and who began it 66 The Treaty of Uxbridge how unsuccesful and the Marquis of Montrose's fatal Letter the Cause 63 The Character and Fall of King Charles the First 74 His Opinion of Defensive Arms in the bisiness of Rochel 79 The Character of his Favourite Buckingham 84 The true Cause of the Scot's coming into England being a forg'd Letter 91 King Charles's design beâ—ore his Death to Resign the Crown And the Army 's to set up the Duke of Gloucester 98 His Consulting the Sortes Virgilianae 100 The Vsurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell 102 The Restoration of King Charles the Second and the Manner of it with Monk's part in it and the Risk Monk ran in Scotland 114 One of the true Causes of the Fall of Chancellor Clarendon 122 The discovery of the Popish Plot and its Consequences 123 The Bill of Exclusion the design of it and how manag'd 125 The Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth and the Consequences of it 131 The Protestant Plot and the Effects of it 133 The Death of King Charles the Second and the Suspicions about the Manner of it discuss'd 135 His Character 143 The Reign of King James the Second 148 The Advantages and Examples he might have maâ—e use of 150 His Brother's and Pope Innocent II.'s Advice to him 152 His first Speech to his Privy Council 153 His first Speech to his Parliament 156 His Second Memorable Speech to his Parliament 157 Two Letters from a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England upon the occasion of this Speech 159 Monmouth's Invasion and the Grounds of it 160 Some Passages out of Monmouth's Pocket-Book 166 Monmouth's Character 167 His Letter in his Retirement 169 King James's Speech to the Parliament upon Monmouth's Defeat 171 The Parliament's Address thereupon 173 The Sense of a Foreign Minister of this last Speech 175 The Advances made to the Subversion of the English Constitution 177 King James's Ambassy to Rome and how received 178 The Panegyricks of King James upon that occasion 182 The Manner how King James had been treated by another Pope in his Marriage with the Princess of Modena 187 King James grants a Toleration of Religion 191 He assumes a dispensing Power 194 He sets up an Ecclesiastical Commission 197 The Suspension of the Bishop of London 198 The Proceedings against Magdalen-College 201 His Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience 206 The Affair of the Seven Bishops 208 The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales 212 A new Parliament design'd and to what end 213 The Prince and Princess of Orange's Opinion about the Penal Laws and Test and how obtain'd 215 The Army Modell'd 220 The Methods us'd in Ireland and Tyrconel's Advancement 222 The Regulating of the Corporations and the Severities against the Protestants 228 The Act of Attainder there 232 The Interest that Foreign States had in England 234 The Emperor's Letter to King James 236 The Interest of the Prince of Orange 237 The bad Circumstances of the House of Orange at the Birth of the Present Prince of Orange now King of England 238 How he came to be Restored in Holland 240 The Desolation of Holland in 1672 242 The Reasons of that Desolation 244 The Difficulty the Prince of Orange had to grapple with 247 The Duke of Luxemburgh's Cruelties at Swammerdam 249 The Affair of Overall's Convocation and how resented by King James 255 His Letter to Dr. Abbot on that Occasion 257 ERRATA PAGE 62. Line 14 15. for the King's Answer to it at its delivery read Answer to them at their delivery MEMOIRS Of the most Material Transactions in England c. THERE is not a Natiâ—n in Europe that from the Constitution of its Government might have promis'd it self a more firm and lasting Repâ—se than England And yet scarce any Kingdom we know upon Earth has suffered so many and various Convulsions As if some malevolent Planet had over-rul'd one of the best of Human Constitutions and by an unaccountable Fatality had render'd ineffectual all the Endeavours of our Ancestors to make themselves and their Posterity happy under a Limited Monarchy A Monarchy in which the Prerogative of the Prince and the Liberty of the People are so equally temper'd that there seems nothing wanting that may tend to the Happiness of either The King of England has the Glory to Rule over a Free People The Excellency of the English Constitution and the People of England that of being subject to a Monarch who by the Laws of the Countrey is invested with as much Power and Greatness as a Wise and Beneficent Prince can reasonably wish for To compleat all the Crown of England has been for many Ages Hereditary and fix'd in
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
done into English Twelves Lex Parliamentaria or a Treatise of the Law and Custom of the Parliaments of England By G. P. Esq Octavo Memoirs of Denzil Lord Holles Baron of Ifield in Sussex from the Year 1641 to 1648. Octavo The Compleat Horseman discovering the surest Marks of the Beauty Goodness Faults and Imperfections of Horses The Signs and Causes of their Diseases the true Method both of their Preservation and Cure with Reflections on the regular and preposterous use of Bleeding and Purging Also the Art of Shooing with the several kinds of Shooes adapted to the various Defects of bad Feet and the Preservation of good Together with the best Method of breeding Colts backing them and making their Mouths c. By the Sieur de Solleysell Querry to the present French King for his Great Horses and one of the Royal Academy of Paris To which is added A most excellent Supplement of Riding collected from the best Authors With an Alphabetical Catalogue of all the Physical Simples in English French and Latin by Sir William Hope Deputy-Lieutenant of the Castle of Edinburgh Folio The Gentleman's Jockey and approv'd Farrier instructing in the Natures Causes and Cures of all Diseases incident to Horses With an exact and easy Method of breeding buying dieting and otherwise ordering all sorts of Horses as well for common and ordinary use as the Heats and Course With divers other Curiosities Collected by the long Practice Experience and Pains of I. H. Esq Matthew Hodson Mr. Holled Mr. Willis Mr. Robinson Mr. Holden Thomas Empson Mr. Roper Mr. Medcalfe and Nath. 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of Horse whence by degrees he rose to be Lieutenant-General under the Earl of Manchester In which Post he was the chief Instrument together with Lieutenant General Lesley of gaining the Battel of Marston-Moor which prov'd the first remarkable Stop to the King's Success Some time after the Earl of Manchester having refus'd to give an Order to Cromwell to charge a Party of Horse where the King was personally present he came up to London to complain against him though he ow'd his Advancement chiefly to his Favour Which the Earl having notice of and being by this time weary of a War of which he foresaw the fatal Consequences he took that opportunity to lay down his Command wherein he was succeeded by Cromwell Sir Thomas Fairfax also laying down his Commission some time after he was declar'd General of all the Forces rais'd or to be rais'd by the Parliament and having modell'd the Parliament and Army to his mind he dismiss'd the former when he had no more use for them and upon their forc'd Resignation he assum'd the Supreme Power under the Title of Protector Being thus mounted to so high a Pinacle of Fortune he became more formidable both at Home and Abroad than most Princes that had ever sat upon the English Throne And it was said that Cardinal Mazarine would change Countenance whenever he heard him nam'd so that it pass'd into a Proverb in France That he was not so much afraid of the Devil as of Oliver Cromwell He had a Manly stern Look and was of an Active Healthful Constitution able to endure the greatest Toil and Fatigue Though Brave in his Person yet he was Wary in his Conduct for from the time he was first declar'd Protector he always wore a Coat of Mail under his Cloaths His Conversation among his Friends was very diverting and familiar but in publick reserv'd and grave He was sparing in his Diet though sometimes would drink freely but never to Excess He was moderate in all other Pleasures and for what was visible free from Immoralities especially after he came to make a Figure in the World He writ a tolerable good Hand and a Stile becoming a Gentleman except when he had a mind to wheedle under the Mask of Religion which he knew nicely how to do when his Affairs requir'd it He affected for the most part a Plainness in his Cloaths but in them as well as in his Guards and Attendance he appear'd with Magnificence upon Publick Occasions No man was ever better serv'd nor took more pains to be so As he was severe to his Enemies so was he beneficent and kind to his Friends And if he came to hear of a Man fit for his purpose though never so obscure he sent for him and employ'd him suiting the Employment to the Person and not the Person to the Employment And upon this Maxim in his Government depended in a great measure his Success In matters of greatest Moment he trusted none but his Secretary Thurlo and oftentimes not him An Instance of which Thurlo us'd to tell of himself That he was once commanded by Cromwell to go at a certain hour to Grays-Inn and at such a place deliver a Bill of Twenty thousand Pound payable to the Bearer at Genoa to a Man he should find walking in such a Habit and Posture as he describ'd him without speaking one word Which accordingly Thurlo did and never knew to his dying day either the Person or the Occasion At another time the Protector coming late at Night to Thurlo's Office and beginning to give him directions about something of great Importance and Secrecy he took notice that Mr. Moreland one of the Clerks afterward Sir Samuel Moreland was in the Room which he had not observ'd before and fearing he might have over-heard their Discourse though he pretended to be asleep upon his Desk he drew a Ponyard which he always carried under his Coat and was going to dispatch Moreland upon the Spot if Thurlo had not with great Intreaties prevail'd with him to desist assuring him that Moreland had sat up two Nights together and was now certainly asleep There was not the smallest Accident that befel King Charles the Second in his Exile but he knew it perfectly well insomuch that having given leave to an English Nobleman to Travel upon condition he should not see Charles Stuart he ask'd him at his Return If he had punctually obey'd his Commands Which the other affirming he had Cromwell replied It 's true you did not see him for to keep your Word with me you agreed to meet in the dark the Candles being put out for that end And withal told him all the Particulars that pass'd in Conversation betwixt the King and him at their Meeting That he had Spies about King Charles The Business of Dunkirk was not strange but his Intelligence reach'd the most secret Transactions of other Princes and when the Matter was communicated to but very few Of which we have a notable Instance in the Business of Dunkirk There was an Article in the Treaty between France and the Protector That if Dunkirk came to be taken it should be immediately deliver'd up to the English and his Ambassador Lockhart had Orders to take Possession of it accordingly When the French Army being join'd with the English Auxiliaries was in its March to Invest the Town Cromwell sent one Morning for the French Ambassador to Whitehall and upbraided him publickly for his Master 's design'd Breach of Promise in giving secret Orders to the French General to keep Possession of Dunkirk in case it was taken contrary to the Treaty between them The Ambassador protested he knew nothing of the matter as indeed he did not and begg'd leave to assure him that there was no such thing thought of Upon which Cromwell pulling a Paper out of his Pocket Here says he is the Copy of the Cardinal's Order And I desire you to dispatch immediately an Express to let him know That I am not to be impos'd upon and that if he deliver not up the Keys of the Town of Dunkirk to Lockhart within an hour after it shall be taken tell him I 'll come in Person and demand them at the Gates of Paris There were but Four Persons said to be privy to this Order the Queen-Mother the Cardinal the Mareschal de Turenne and a Secretary whose Name it is not fit at this time to mention The Cardinal for a long time blam'd the Queen as if she might possibly have blabb'd it out to some of her Women Whereas it was found after the Secretary's Death That he had kept a secret Correspondence with Cromwell for several Years and therefore it was not doubted but he had sent him the Copy of the Order above-mention'd The Message had its effect for Dunkirk was put into the Possession of the English And to palliate the matter the Duke and Mareschal of Crequy was dispatch'd into England Ambassador Extraordinary to Compliment Cromwell attended with
a Numerous and Splendid Train of Persons of Quality among whom was a Prince of the Blood and Muncini Mazarine 's Nephew who brought a Letter from his Uncle to the Protector full of the highest Expressions of Respect and assuring his Highness That being within view of the English Shore nothing but the King's Indisposition who lay then ill of the Small-Pox at Calais could have hinder'd him to come over to England that he might enjoy the Honour of waiting upon one of the Greatest Men that ever was and whom next to his Master his greatest Ambition was to serve But being depriv'd of so great a happiness he had sent the Person that was nearest to him in Blood to assure him of the profound Veneration he had for his Person and how much he was resolv'd to the utmost of his power to cultivate a perpetual Amity and Friendship betwixt his Master and him Few Princes ever bore their Character higher upon all occasions than Oliver Cromwell especially in his Treaties with Crown'd Heads And it 's a thing without Example that 's mention'd by one of the best-inform'd Historians of the Age Puffendorf in the Life of the late Elector of Brandenburgh That in Cromwell's League with France against Spain he would not allow the French King to call himself King of France but of the French whereas he took to himself not only the Title of Protector of England but likewise of France And which is yet more surprizing and which can hardly be believ'd but for the Authority of the Author Puffendorf de Rebus Gestis Fredâ—rici Wilhelmi Electoris Brandenburgici p. 313. Id porro Bellum Protectoris in Hispanos adeo opportunum Gallo accedebat ut summo Studio istum faedore sibi innectere studeret etiam concesso ut Cromwellus eundem Gaâ—â—orum Regem non Galliarum nuncuparet aliâs ipse Protectoris quoque Franciae vocabulum ficut Angliae assumpturus Simul pateretur Cromwellum Instrumento suo Nomen titulumque ante Gallicum ponere whose own Words are in the Margin In the Instrument of the Treaty the Protector 's Name was put before the French King's It 's true France was then under a Minority and was not arriv'd at that Greatness to which it has since attain'd Towards which Cromwell contributed not a little by that League with France against Spain being the falsest Step he ever made with respect to the Tranquility of Europe As every thing did contribute to the Fall of King Charles I. so did every thing contribute to the Rise of Cromwell And as there was no design at first against the King's Life so it 's probable that Cromwell had no thoughts for a long time of ever arriving at what he afterwards was It is known he was once in Treaty with the King after the Army had carried his Majesty away from Holmby House to have Restor'd him to the Throne which probably he would have done if the Secret had not been like to take Vent by the Indiscretion of some about the King which push'd Cromwell on to prevent his own by the Ruin of the King It 's likewise certain that the Title of Protector did not satisfy his Ambition but that he aim'd to be King The Matter was for some time under Consideration both in his Mock-Parliament and Council of State in-so-far that a Crown was actually made and brought to Whitehall for that purpose But the Aversion he found in the Army against it and the fear of the Commonwealth-Party oblig'd him to lay the Thoughts of it aside at least for that time Yet it 's probable these high Aims did not dye but with himself For to be able with the help of Spanish Gold to carry on his Design in England without depending upon a Parliament for Money is thought was the true Motive of his Attempt upon St. Domingo which was the only Action of War he fail'd in But notwithstanding his specious Pretences to the contrary Cromwell invaded and betrayed the Liberties of his Countrey and acted a more Tyrannical and Arbitrary Part than all the Kings of England together had done since the Norman Conquest And yet after all his Good Fortune accompanied him to the last for after a long Chain of Success he died in Peace and in the Arms of his Friends was buried among the Kings with a Royal Pomp and his Death condol'd by the Greatest Princes and States of Christendom in Solemn Embassies to his Son But this is not all for whatever Reasons the House of Austria had to hate the Memory of Cromwell yet his causing the Portugal Ambassador's Brother to be Executed for a Tumult in London notwithstanding his Plea of being a Publick Minister as well as his Brother was near Twenty Years after Cromwell's Death brought as a Precedent by the present Emperor to justify his Arresting and carrying off the Prince of Furstenburgh at the Treaty of Cologne notwithstanding Furstenburgh's being a Plenipotentiary for the Elector of that Name And in the Printed Manifesto publish'd by the Emperor upon that occasion this Piece of Cromwellâ—s Justice in executing the Portuguese Gentleman is related at large To sum up Cromwell's Character it 's observable That as the Ides of March were equally Fortunate and Fatal to Iulius Caesar another Famous Invader of the Liberties of his Countrey so was the Third of September to Oliver Cromwell For on that Day he was Bornâ— on that Day he fought the Three Great Battels of Marston-Moor Worcester and Dunbar and on that Day he died Cromwell died in the peaceable Possession of the Sovereign Power though disguis'd under another Name and left it to a Son that had neither Heart nor Abilities to keep it The Genius of the Nation return'd to its Natural Byass and Monarchy was so much interwoven with the Laws Customs and the first Threads of the English Constitution that it was altogether impossible it could be ever totally worn out Our Ancestors had wisely settled themselves upon that Bottom and those very men that some Years before had justled out Monarchy upon the account of its Encroachments upon the Rights of the People were become as zealous now to restore it again upon the Encroachments that the assuming part of the People had made of late upon the Rights of their Fellow-Subjects For near Two Years together after Cromwell's Death the Government of England underwent various Shapes and every Month almost produc'd a New Scheme till in the end all these Convulsions co-operated to turn the Nation again upon its True and Ancient Basis. Thence it was that the Son of King Charles the First The Restoration of King Charles II. after Ten Years Exile was restor'd to his Father's Throne in the Year 1660 without Blood or any remarkable Opposition This Revolution was the more to be admir'd since not only all Attempts to bring King Charles back by Force of Arms prov'd ineffectual but that notwithstanding upon Cromwell's Death every thing at home seem'd to concur to his