some Loss to the Dutch at length no Fleet was set out and the choicest of the Royal Navy either burnt or taken in Harbour to save Charges And tho' the French at length join'd themselves in assistance with the Dutch against us yet by the Credit he had with the Queen Mother he so far impos'd upon Charles the Second no less ready for his own private Conveniencies to be impos'd upon that upon assurance which no Man of Prudence and Foresight would have believ'd that the Dutch would have no Fleet at Sea that Year he forbore to make ready and so incurr'd that ignominious Disgrace at Chatham the like to which the English never suffer'd since they claim'd the Dominion of the Sea And which was more as he had been beholden to his great Friend the King of France for the Ignominy he had suffer'd so was he glad to receive the Peace from his Favour which was concluded at Breda And now we come to the best Act that ever he did in his Life had he had the Grace to pursue it which shew'd how happy a Prince he might have been had he been ever faithful to his own and the Interests of his People and that Religion which he outwardly profest For upon conclusion of that Peace having leisure to look about him and to observe how the French had in the Year 1667. taken their Opportunity and while we were embroyl'd and weakned by the late War had in violation of all the most Sacred and Solemn Oaths and Treaties invaded and taken a great part of the Spanish Netherlands which had always been consider'd as the Natural Frontier of England the King then prompted more by his own Fears then out of any kindness he had for the Nation judg'd it necessary to interpose before the Flames that consum'd his next Neighbour should throw their Sparkles over the Water Thereupon he sent Sir William Temple then his Resident at Brussels to propose a nearer Alliance with the Hollanders and to take joint Measures against the French Which Proposals of Sir William Temple's being entertain'd with all Compliance with the Dutch within Five days after Two several Treaties were concluded between the King and the States The one a Defensive and Stricter League than before between the Two Nations and the other a Joint and Reciprocal Engagement to oppose the Conquest of Flanders and to procure either by way of Mediation or by Force of Arms a speedy Peace between France and Spain upon the Terms therein mentioned And because Sweden came into the same Treaty within a very little while after from the Three Parties concern'd and engag'd it was call'd the Triple League In pursuance of which the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle was also forc'd upon the French and in some manner upon the Spaniards who were very unwilling to part with so great a Part of their Country by a Solemn Treaty But both the King and the Hollanders thought it a very great and good Work and judg'd it an extraordinary Happiness not only for Spain but for all Europe to come off with a broken Pate and to have at least for that while kept France from going farther Besides all this to tye the Knot the faster and take even the very thoughts from the French King of ever stirring or being troublesom to his Neighbour the King sent an Extraordinary Envoy to several Princes of Germany to invite them into the Triple League and his Minister to perswade them to it laid open with no less heat then plainness the danger all Europe was in urging the insensibility of most Princes and their carelesness the watchful Ambition of the French the Greatness of their Forces and the little Reason there was to trust him In fine omitting nothing that could Alarm all the World and procure a general Confederacy against the Common Oppressor More than this in regard the Spaniards were very much wanting to themselves by their backwardness in the Payment of the Subsidies promised to Sweden the King af England being not without some fears least the Swedes should fall off uless the Money agreed upon were paid them without farther delay he offer'd to advance part of it himself and had accordingly done it in case the Dutch would have advanced the rest The Kidg of France thus stopp'd in his Career by the Tripple League and by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle soon after concluded though for a while he dissembled his dissatisfaction yet resolved to untye the Tripple Knot whatever it cost him To which purpose the Dutchess of Orleans was sent over as one that would be a welcom Guest to her Brother and whose Charms â—nd Dexterity joyn'd with her other adâ—antages would give her such an ascenâ—ent over him as could not fail of Success â—nd indeed she acquitted her self so well â—f her Commission that she quite supplanted all the King 's good Councils and by yielding to his Incestuous Embraces while the D. of B. held the Door so charmed his most Sacred Majesty and he quite and clean forgot his Tripple League and entred into a new and stricter Alliance with France than ever 'T is true the Peace was dear bought by the Zealous Lady in regard it cost her her Life upon her return into France For though she might seem to have atton'd for the Crime and to have merited forgiveness from her Husband by the advantageous League which she had pleasantly syren'd her Brother to make with the French Monarch yet jealous and incensed Orleance was not so much a lover of his Country as to remit the Indignity done to his Bed or such a Bigot as to pardon the Woman that had sacrificed his Honour to the Interest of Popery However the Articles being thus sealed at Dover by his Majesty the Marquis of Belfonds was immediately sent hither and a Person of great Honour sent thither and so the League it self being drawn into form was ratified on both sides This Treaty was for a long time a work of Darkness and lay long concealed tilâ— the King of France to the end the King of England being truly set forth in hiâ— Colours out of a disâ—air of ever being trusted or forgiven by his People hereafter might be push't to go on barefac'd and follow his steps in Government as well as Religion most treacherously and unking-like caused it to be Printed at Paris tho upon Complaint made at the French Court it was again stifled and the Author tho' he had his instructions from Colbert to humour the King committed to the Bastile for a short time and then let out again However the Book being Printed some few Copies lit into safe hands from whence take the Substance of that Mystery of Iniquity as follows After that M. de Croisy the French Embassador at London had laid before the Eyes of the King of England all the Grounds which his Majesty had of Complaint against Holland c. He told him that the time was come to revenge himself of a
that the said Princes Common-wealths and States may be admonished in the bowels of Jesus Christ and induced to enter into and conclude an Universal Peace and that they will unitedly supply the said King And that they will by no means acknowledg the said Regicides and Tyrants for a Common-wealth or State nor enter into or have any commerce with them 4. That by the said Nuncio's or any other way all and every the Monarchs of all Europe may be timely admonished and made sensible in this Cause wherein beside the detriment of the Faith their own proper Interest is concerned The foresaid Tyrants being sworn enemies to all Monarchy as they themselves do openly assert both by Word and Writing and to that end both in Germany Spain France Polonia c. and in the very Dominions of the Great Turk they have raised dangerous Insurrections being raised they foment them and to that purpose they supply the Charge and make large Contributions to it 5. That your Holiness would command under pain of Excommunication ipso facto all and singular Catholicks That neither they nor any of them directly nor indirectly by Land or by Sea do serve them in Arms or assist them by any Counsel or help to favour or supply them any way under whatsoever pretext Holy Father The premised Remedies are timely to be applied by which the Catholick Faith now exposed to extreme and imminent hazard may be conserv'd an infinite number of Catholicks may be preserv'd from destruction Monarchy may be established and the most invincible King of Great Britain restor'd to his Rights All which things will bear your Holiness to Heaven with their Praises whom God long conserve in safety c. The Propositions and Motives abovesaid if occasion be our Agent will more largely set forth viva voce Nor could there be a more evident Demonstration of the Kings kind Inclinations to the Head of the Romish Religion whom he had so dutifully courted from Scotland then that soon after his Return he justify'd the Bloody Massacre committed by the Papists in Ireland in the Year 1641. For that the Lord Antrim appearing at the Court of Claims guilty of those execrable Murthers and of that most detestable Rebellion and being thereupon to forfeit his Estate as he had justly deserv'd the King by a Letter under his own Hand as well to the Privy Council as to that Court avow'd That whatever the said Lord had done it was by Commission and Authority from his Father Which as it serves to clear a great portion of our Doubts and Suspicions of the Son's Integrity to the Protestant Religion so it was a shrewd Argument that all that glister'd in the Father was not Gold But being eager to be restor'd he was forc'd to put on a Protestant Mask and to wear one Religion in his Face another in his Heart and no question but he had Plenary Toleration from his Ghostly Father for what he did He had watchful Eyes over him And to shew that as he was a great Lover of Comedies and Enterludes so he could act his part with e're a Moon or Lacy of 'em all there is a Story must not be omitted which may serve to light us into the Occasion how he came to gain the Addition of Pious Otherwise as it is impossible for us to give any Account why Virgil so often gives the Epiphet of Pious to his Hero AEneas after he had so dishonourrably cheated and broke his Faith with Queen Dido so is it as little to be expected that we should afford a Reason why Charles the Second should be so universally dignifi'd with the Name of Pious after such a Prank of Hypocrisie as we are going to relate Certainly he could not be thought to be akin to AEneas for we can never deduce his Extraction from the Loins of Anchises perhaps from Venus we might and therefore the Cause must be sought for nearer home Well then the Story is this While he lay at Breda daily expecting the English Navy for his Transportation the Dissenting Party fearing the worst thought it but reasonable to send a select Number of their most eminent Divines to wait upon his Majesty in Holland in order to get the most advantageous Promises from him they could for the Liberty of their Consciences Of the number of these Divines Mr. Case was one who with the rest of his Brethren coming where the King lay and desiring to be admitted into the King's Presence were carried up into the Chamber next or very near the King's Closet but told withal That the King was busie at his Devotions and that till he had done they must be contented to stay Being thus left alone by Contrivance no doubt and hearing a sound of groaning Piety such was the Curiosity of Mr. Case that he would needs go and lay his Ear to the Closet door But Heavens how was the good Old Man ravish'd to hear the Pious Ejaculations that fell from the King's Lips Lord since thou art pleas'd to restore me to the Throne of my Ancestors grant me a Heart constant in the Exercise and Protection of thy True Protestant Religion Never may I seek the Oppression of those who out of the tenderness of their Consciences are not free to conform to Outward and Indifferent Ceremonies With a great deal more of the same Cant. Which Mr. Case having over-heard full of Joy and Transport returning to his Brethren with Hands and Eyes to Heaven up-lifted fell a congratulating the Happiness of Three Nations over which the Lord had now plac'd a Saint of Paradise for their Prince After which the King coming out of his Closet the deluded Ministers were ready to prostrate themselves at his Feet and then it was that the King gave them those Promises of his Favour and Indulgence which how well he after perform'd they felt to their sorrow Soon after he arriv'd in England where he was receiv'd with all the Pomp and Splendour and all the Demonstrations of Joy that a Nation could express but then as if he had left all his Piety behind him in Holland care was taken against the very first Night that his Sacred Majesty was to lie at Whitehall to have the Lady Castlemain seduc'd from her Loyalty to her Husband and entic'd into the Arms of the happily restor'd Prince Which was not only Adultery but Incest in the Lord 's Annointed it being the Opinion of several Persons who had reason to know more than others did that she was his Sister by the Mother's Side as being begotten by the E. of St. A. upon the Queen's Body after the Death of C. the First which is the rather to be believ'd for that I my self have often heard Mr. R. Osborn then at Paris with the Exil'd King affirm That he saw the said E. and the Queen solemnly marry'd together But he was more kind to the D. of Portsmouth than to any of his Mistresses and thence it was that she might not lie under
than to take the Charity and Benevolence of good People which had been given toward the Releasing of poor Christian Captives from Mahometan Thraldom and to turn it either into Wages for his Myrmidons or into Pensions to reward suborn'd Witnesses for swearing the Innocent out of their Lives There remain'd nothing now but that the King after this famous Exploit upon his own Subjects should manifest his Impartiality to Forreigners and assert the Justice of his intended Quarrel with the Hollanders Thereupon the Dispute about the Flag upon occasion of the Fanfan Yacht was started afresh and a great noise was made of infamous Libels horrid Pictures Pillars set up and Medals coin'd to the infinite dishonour of his Majesties Person his Crown and Dignity tho' not one of those Libels or Pictures could be produced and as for the Pillars they never had any Being but in the Imaginations of those that made it their Business to raise Jealousies between the two Nations 'T is true there was a Medal coin'd which might have been spar'd but so soon as it was known in Holland that Exceptions were taken at it the Stamp was broken to pieces Then the Difficulties which arose about the Surrender of Surinam were improv'd to the height and this after Secretary Trevor had adjusted the Matter with the States Though these things were handl'd so nicely as if they had been afraid of being prevented in their design by receiving all the satisfaction they could have desired from the Dutch The Dutch therefore being not conscious of any Provocation which they had given the English but of their readiness if there had been any to repair it and relying upon the Faith of the Kings Treaties and Alliances pursu'd their Traffick and Navigation through the English Seas without the least suspicion And accordingly a numerous and rich Fleet of Merchant-men from Smyrna and Spain were on their Voyage homeward near the Isle of Wight under a small Convoy of five or six Men of War This was the Fleet in expectation of which the King had so long deferr'd the War to plunder them in Peace The Wealth of this was that which by its ponderous weight turn'd the Ballance of all his Publick Justice and Honour With this Treasure he imagined he should be in stock for all the Wickdness he was capable to act and that he should never after this Addition stand himself in need nor his Instruments in fear of a Parliament To this purpose Sir R. H. being pitch'd upon for the Exploit according to his Instructions fell in among them with the Squadron under his Command But the Dutch Merchant-men themselves and their small Convoy so bestir'd themselves that Sir Robert finding himself not strong enough was forced to give over the Enterprize So that all the Booty that was gotten hardly sufficed to pay the Surgeons and Carpenters And so hotly did the King pursue his Chase of the Protestant Religion that while he was so piously and justly Violating his Royal Contracts upon the Sea in order to his mastering the Protestant Religion abroad he at the same time was undermining and sapping it at home For while he was trying his Fortune in Battel with the Smyrna Fleet a Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was Printing off at the Press as a more proper means than Fasting and Prayer to propitiate for Success to his Enterprize and to the War that must second it By this Declaration all the Penal Laws against Papists for which former Parliaments had given so many vast Sums were in one Instant suspended in order to defraud the Nation of all that Religion which they had so dearly purchas'd and for which they ought at least the Bargain being broken to have been reimburs'd By all which it was plain that the King did all that lay in his power toward the advancement of Popery and Slavery but that still his luck was nought For having been thus true to his great Design and made so considerable a Progress though with an inauspicious beginning at length he thought it high time to declare the War after he had begun it And though in subservience to France and his Dover Tâ—eaty he undertook to be formost to discompose the State of all Châ—istendom and though he made himself Principal to all the horrid Destructions Devastations Ravage and Slaughter which after that ensued yet had he the Confidence in the winding up of his Manifesto to expose the following Words to the World And whereas we are engaged by a Treaty to support the Peace made at Aix la Chapelle We do finally declare That notwithstanding the Prosecution of this War we will maintain the true intent and Scope of the said Treaty and that in all Alliances which We have or shall make in the Progress of this War We have and will take care to preserve the ends thereof inviolable unless provoked to the contrary And yet it was as clear as the Sun that the French had by the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle agreed to acquiesce in their former Conquests of Flanders and that the English Swedes and Hollanders were reciprocally bound to be aiding against whomsoever should disturb that Regulation Besides the League Offensive and Defensive which the King had made with the States General all which by this Conjunction with France was dash'd in pieces So that what is here declared were it reconsilable to Truth yet could not consist with possibility unless by one only Exception that the English who by their new league with France were to be the Breakers of the Peace of Aix and by the Tripple League were to fulfil their Obligations to both Parties should have sheath'd the Sword in our own Bowels But such was the Zeal of the King and his select Instrument for the Promotion of Slavery and Popery that it easily transported them to say what was untrue or to undertake what was impossible for the Service of the French And now the French King seeing the English engaged past all retreat comes in with his Fleet not to fight but only to sound our Seas to spy our Ports to learn our Building to learn our way of Fighting and to consume ours and preserve his own Navy For no sooner had the D. of York as the design was laid suffered himself to be shamefully surprized but the Vice-Admiral the Earl of Sandwich was sacrificed and the rest of the English Fleet so torn and mangled that the English Honour was laid not in the Dust but in the Mud while his Royal Highness did all that was expected from him and M. d'Estrees who commanded the French did all that he was sent for There were three other several Engagements of ours with the Dutch the next Summer But while nothing was tenable at Land against the French so it seemed that to the English every thing was impregnable at Sea which was not to be attributed to the want of Courage or Conduct of the then Commanders but rather to the unlucky Conjunction of the