Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	great_a	king_n	secretary_n	1,238	5	9.7864	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A37639	The articles or charge exhibited in Parliament against Sir Francis Windebanck, secretary of the state to His Majesty whereunto is annexed the letter that he sent to the right honourable the Lord Chamberlaine from Callis, Ian. 11, 1640.	Windebank, Francis, Sir, 1582-1646, defendant.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.	1641 (1641)	Wing E1235; ESTC R22977	3,084	8

THE ARTICLES OR CHARGE EXHIBITED IN PARLIAMENT AGAINST Sir Francis Windebanck Secretary of State to his Majesty Whereunto is annexed The Letter that he sent to the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine from Callis Ian 11. 1640. Printed Anno Dom. 1641. ARTICLES OF THE HOVSE OF Commons in Parliament against Secretary WINDEBANKE INprimis Seventy foure Letters of grace to Recusants within this foure yeares signified with Secretary Windebankes owne hand 2. Sixty foure Priests in the Gate-house within this foure yeares discharged for the most part by Secretary Windebanke 3. Twenty nine discharged by a verball Warrant of Secretary Windebankes 4. A Warrant to protect one Muffon a condemned Priest and all the houses hee frequented 5. One committed by the Kings owne hand and discharged by Secretary Windebanke without signification of the Kings pleasure therein 6. A Petition of St. Giles in the Fields neere London to the King of the increase of Popery in their Parish wherein Twenty one persons was seduced and turned by two Priests the which Priests was both discharged by Secretary Windebanke Secretary Windebancks Letter to my Lord Chamberlaine from Callis Ian. 11. MY Lord I owe my selfe to your Lordship for your late favours and therfore much more the account of my selfe though 〈◊〉 debt in either respect be of little consideration and the calling of both may be of greater advantage to you then to continue the Oblig●tion This account had bin presented to your Lp. 〈◊〉 my first arrivall here with my first dispatches but I was so mortified with my hazardous passage in an open shallop and so perplext with the thoughts of miseries into which I sind my selfe plunged and besides the departure of the messenger that carried those letters was so suddaine that it was not possible to performe this duty to your Lordship sooner for the which I doe most humbly crave pardon your Lordship may now please to accept the expressions from the saddest and most wounded soule in the whole World who am a spectacle of misery in my selfe in my distressed Wife and children and in my whole fortunes who have left the attending of my Soveraigne and Master and accesse to the best Prince in the world who am become a scorne and by-word to all the world both at home and abroad a wanderer and exile from mine owne Countrey now in the declination of my yeares and likely to end my dayes in a remote Countrey and far from the comfort of all my friends What I am guilty off none knowes so well as his Majesty whom I haue served faithfully diligently painfully and with as true and loyall an heart according to my poore abilities as any other whatsoever and if I found my Conscience charged with any crime of basenesse corruption infidelity or any thing else unworthy of a Gentleman I should not venture to addresse these Complaints to your Lordship or to any other person of Honour in this disconsolate estate being an object not altogether unworthy of your Lordships compassion be it for no other respect but that I have long served the King and Queenes Majesties I doubt not but your Lordship in your generosity and goodnesse will have a lively sense feeling of my sufferings and vouchsafe me such reliefe as in your Honour you may and if my selfe who by course of Nature cannot be now of long continuance be not considerable J most humbly beseech your Lordship to have pitty upon my poore innocent wife and children that they receive such comfort and assistance from you in my absence that they may be preserved from perishing And to that end J most humbly crave your Lordships favour to this Bearer my Sonne and to give him the Honour of accesse whensoever hee shall make his addresses to you wherein you shall doe a worke of singular charity And because there is an opinion in the world that J have much improved my fortunes by the Roman party And there hath beene some designe by my ministery to introduce Popery into England I shall most humbly crave your Lordships patience in giving me leave to cleere those two great misunderstandings which if they were true were sufficient to render mee uncapable of his Majesties favours or of the compassion of any person of honour whatsoever For the first it is notorious to all the world that having now served his Majesty in the place of a Secretary above eight yeares I have not added one foot of Land to the inheritance left me by my Father which in Land and Lease was not above 500 pounds per annum a poore and inconsiderable estate for a Secretary and such an one as most Secretaries have more then trebled in a short time for my manner of living it hath been much under the dignity of a Secretary and if I had not beene very frugall J could not have subsisted where then this concealed masse of Treasure is I wish those that speake so liberally of it would let me know for I doe protest to God I am utterly to seeke where to discover it and at this present I am so unfurnished with monies that if his Majestie cause me not to be supplyed I am unable to subsist in these parts without exposing my family in England to the danger of starving and yet neither my purpose nor inclination is to live otherwise heere then in the greatest obscurity and closenesse that possible I may I assure your Lordship that those of the Roman party that passed my hands by his Majesties commandment were poore distressed creatures and farre from being able to inrich me and besides how little I have attended my owne private and how freely and like a Gentleman I hope I may speake the truth without ostentation I have done curtesies to all I wish it should rather appeare by the testimony of such as have made use of my services then by mine owne My Father and J haved served the Crowne of England neare 80. yeares together in which time if a greater estate had beene raised it might well have beene justified considering the great imployments neere the persons of Queene Elizabeth King Iames and his Majesty that now is wee both have had and your Lordship may beleeve it for J avow it upon the faith of a Christian that it is no more then I have above-mentioned and whether there are not many from lesse imployments have risen to bee Noble-men and made their fortunes accordingly J leave to the world to judge For the other suspition of my being a favourer or an aduancer of Popery I protest before the Almighty God as I shall answer at the last dreadfull day that I know no ground for the least suspition thereof neither am I my selfe nor is any other to my knowledge guilty of the least thought of any such purpose For my self I received my Baptisme in the Church of England and J know nothing in the Church of Rome that can winne me from that Church wherein I was made a Christian I doe therefore hold this Church of England not onely a true and Orthodox Church but the most pure and neere the Primitive of any in the Christian world and this J will bee ready to seale with my blood whensoever there shall be occasion with this further protestation that if I did not hold it so I vvould not continue in it for any vvorldly respects vvhatsoever For that which hath passed my hands for favour of that party it hath bin meerly ministerial as his Majesty best knowes and I must be bold to say that his Majesty hath not bin deceived by it but hath received many greater advantages besides that if a Secretary of State should not hold intelligence with the party is absolute to disable him for the service of the state that hath bin done alwayes more or lesse and so must alwayes continue Kings and their ministers of State have ever had and might ever have a Latitude according to time and occasion cannot be so tyed according to stricknesse of law as others are without perill to the government therefore when the Roman party were practique and busie about the state there was reason to bee more strick't but now by the wisedome of the Queen her good Officers they are better tempered lesse severity hath bin used it being the prerogative of the Prince to use moderation according to accusation further then this J have not had to doe with the Roman party nor thus farre but in obedience to my Masters commandment which I hope shall not be censured a crime this being my condition I most humbly submit it to your Lordships wisdome and goodnesse and seeing there is no malignity in it nor prejudice to the state That your Lordship would vouchsafe me your favour and protection and preserve me from perishing Callis January 11. 1640. Your Lordships most humble and faitfull though much distressed Servant FRAN WINDEBANCK FINIS