ΧΕΙΡΕΞΟΚΗ   printer's or publisher's device 
THE EXCELLENCY OR HANDIWORK OF The Royal Hand.  
LONDON, Printed by William Godbid for the Author. M.DC.LXV.   

To the Puissant and Illustrious PRINCE JAMES Duke of YORK and ALBANY, LORD of VLTONE, LORD CHIEF ADMIRAL of ENGLAND, AND KNIGHT of the most Renowned and Noble Order of the GARTER.  
ROYAL SIR,  
THough I am of myself a Subject inconsiderable, yet that which I here adventure to treat of, is of more worth. And, in good earnest, I should not have been reconciled to myself with the Dedication, had I not laid a strict injunction upon it, in the first place, to visit the best of Families, that of Yours; to whom I own not only myself, but all I have in the world. The Excellency in this Treatise is the Subject, otherwise (I must confess) 'ttwere much beneath your Highness' countenance, cui majora debeantur: Yet, 'tis Golden chaffer, Sir, and if but stamped with your Highness' Acceptance, 'twill pass Currant, and I shall expose it to the surging billows of a Tempestuous World. 'Tis plain English, without any intermixture but what is merely necessary; 'tis clad (for the most part) in its Mother Tongue, yet a little French puts it into the mode, and gives it a kind of Reputation. I thought it my Duty to invoke your Highness' Patronage; pardon my Ambition in it, and receive it as a pledge, and the effect of abundance of regards towards You; and if your Highness judge aright, they may be weighed in the balance with your greatest Admirers. These Conceptions are the true Issue of my Heart, as well as my Invention: Be pleased to cast but as kind an Eye upon them, as you have in your Infancy almost (as I may say) done upon the Author; but Time which hath worn out all things, hath him too out of your Remembrance. That which may be the greatest inducement to your Highness to read this small Product, is the Centre to which it truly points, and may be (God knows how soon) your own concern. 'Tis an old Art, but new revived; 'tis the Refining and Sublimating of LOYALTY to such a pitch as may render it gustful, and all (if possible) after long Seductions, to their due Obedience to their lawful PRINCE. And being banded by so good Authority, as indeed it is, it needs no Licence for its Publication, and your Highness cannot but give it a Caress.  
Yours most affectionately devoted to Love and Revere You with all due Observance T.A. M.D.   

THE EXCELLENCY or HANDY WORK OF THE Royal Hand.  
I Cannot but take notice, that for several years last passed, divers persons, taking the advantage of there being no King in Israel, have hugged themselves too much, with the vain hopes of having Fortune to be their Mistress, whom they more courted for Success, than the Deity, boasting themselves the seventh Sons, Stroakers, and what not, have become great Undertakers, promising by their manual Touch, the perfect Cure of those Swell, commonly called by the name of the Kings Evil. Aegris & astantibus mirabilia pollicentur, indeed more in a quarter of an hour, than they can make good all their life time: Vitam vendunt quèm longissimam, ut verendum sit nobis, nè sero nimis in calum redeamus: Their self-conceitedness, and proud blindness, has emboldened them to so high a pitch, that they have adventured upon those things which they had neither competent strength to wield, nor any warrant from God Almighty to attempt, and the more ignorant the more confident; thus have they hooked in simple Credulity to worship their Idolatry, and admire their Enthusiasms; they have fished for a Name and Fame amongst the easy deceived vulgar, who lose themselves in the mist of such men's Ignorance. Thus have they fallen upon Practice, which has proved so fatal a fall to many of them, that they could never rise to any thing after; having deluded those which were too big with belief, and apt to receive that for a spark of Truth (their Reason being dim-sighted) that lay buried in a heap of Errors.  
That many things in this Evil Malady are really effected by Topical Medicaments, the Authority of most eminent Physicians, and none of the meanest Surgeons, will make good, and induce us to credit, whose undoubted Experience must not be contradicted, nor repugned. That indeed which they have professed themselves potent to effect, by a Touch, and solely upon this account, because they are the Seventh Sons, has been the King's Evil; but who has faith enough to believe this to be natural? for that which is natural hath its dependence on the most inward Principles, and on every Individuum of the same Species: but this must not be granted, neither doth it depend on the number, for according to the Axioms of Philosophy, a number hath no operative virtue, and likewise Actiones sunt Suppositorum, All Actions are the Products of the Suppositum, and have their Shore upon the form of things; but the Seventh Son is said to have that peculiar power which the other Six are deprived of, and only quatenus the Seventh. Therefore being it proceeds neither according to the premises, from the form, nor number, it must necessarily, were it so, have its rise elsewhere; to which I shall speak more home after a little further progress. Many Families, in the time of the Apostles, did abound with a numerous Offspring: yet 'tis not upon Record, neither before the Infancy of Christian Religion, nor since, that any of the Seventh Sons did ever make any contention with them, touching the power of working these miracles. The Subject, is The Operator, the Practiser of this Mystery, to wit, A Gracious King, who for Clemency exceeds all the Pious and potent Monarches that ever lived before Him, whose Pardon, before I can proceed, I am here with all humility to beg, that I make him again a Subject, being so lately too long one. The Object, is the Evil Subject, the Kings Evil. As for the Signum Pathognomonicum, 'tis so obvious to the Eye, and Touch, that I think it impertinent to touch at all upon that String, whereby (like Ariadne's Clue) to direct you to the knowledge of it: Yet because I will not leave you in the dark, I shall endeavour to decipher these Swell in their true and proper colours.  
They are called Strumae, which are Glandulae induratae, quas Graeci 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vocant.  
The Arabians, Scrofulae, in collo plerumque collocentur, they are caused from Phlegm consolidated in the glandulous parts; some Tuberculae magnae; some parvae, which are with more facility cured. I would not be thought one of those, that term Good, Evil; and Evil, Good: Yet there are degrees, I would, if possible, furnish you with so much insight, as that you may be able to distinguish betwixt them. Some are, like His Majesty's Subjects, some better conditioned than others, yet some attended with so much Malignity, that they will not admit of any cure but what is palliative; Quaedam quasi suspensae huc & illucfacile moventur, they move to and fro, and yet are not easily removed; quaedam insertae oriantur, and are frequently disseminated clean though the Vessels, as Veins, and Arteries; They are for the most part tumors, consisting of Equality, neither soft nor hard, but of a medium betwixt both: The Peripheria round, and it has been generally observed, that those persons which have been most affected with it, either they themselves, or some of their nearest Relatives, have been all along for the most part Round, as the World has gone too long, Sublata causa tollitur effectus. The Cure of all Diseases is wrought by a depulsion of the Cause. Tactus, quasi Tactus, vim habet solam Tangendi; The Touch, as Touch, hath only the power of Touching: Otherwise by consequence, that certain virtue which is in the body, were it noxious, would also by the same Touch be communicated, but the Touch itself hath not this virtue: Seeing than that other Diseases may proceed from one and the same Cause, in some other parts of the body, the same Touch might prove Energetical for their removal; but being it cannot be so, the Cure must either be miraculous, or wholly attributed to the Imagination of the Patient; but we cannot believe it to be miraculous, for in times past the Apostles and Primitive Christians, both for the further Illustrating of God's Glory, and augmenting of Christian Religion, manuum impositione multos sanârunt, have healed many by a Touch; and most true it is, God will not have miracles inconsiderately wrought, for the pleasure of any man; So that the Apostles have signified to us, that, That which they did, was not by their own power, or by virtue and power of the Touch, and in their own strength, but by the Indulgence and special Mandate of the Great Jehovah.  
Therefore those Seven Sons of Shevah the Jew, who attempting by the same name, to conjure the Devils, have, by enduring their horrid violence, sufficiently felt the punishment of their temerarious, and unadvised boldness: Hence we may conclude, That 'tis not lawful for ordinary persons to assume so great a power, their skill in healing is not the Gift of God, as appeareth by the quality of the persons, who are generally ignorant, and profane; for which very cause, God will not reveal his Counsels to them, but to them that truly fear him: 'Tis true, if it be his pleasure, he can bring Good out of Evil. There are in the world, too many of these prodigious and seducing Jugglers, which do probably some small inconsiderable things; These Simpletons, through the pretence and reputation of Divine power, may cure some simple wounds which only required Union, which Nature would have done herself. Thus they daily make a noise, with their forged miracles, and make any Truth of any falsehood, be it never so notorious, and a prejudicated opinion of such men's supposed sufficiency, they themselves being not really able to discern betwixt right and wrong, Good and Evil; they are great Usurpers upon other men's Rights, against whom I shall advance the Avantguard of all my might and force, not only to batter, but totally defeat, depress, and lay these evil Spirits, who have no more dangerous snare, than this condition of Faith, that those who will have help or secure at their hands, must believe they can do them good.  
As to the Imagination, it being divers, in some fronger, in some weaker, we may suppose nothing, but an uncertain Event, can be expected from an uncertain Cause. The unreasonable part of Fancy juggles too much with the judgements and understandings of men, that they can scarce contain themselves from believing, and consulting with some ridiculous folly: thus able is Imagination not only to deceive sense, but obscure our Reason. If there be any good which the World fancies in them, they have it by Accident, by the power and virtue of Fancy, wherein is neither certainty nor continuance.  
Hoc privilegium sanandi strumas, est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 divinum planè munus; The power of Curing this Evil, is vouchsafed solely to the Kings, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, and France, and denied to other Christian Kings; non proprietaete personarum, sed Divino privilegio; non verborum tantum facultate, nec medicorum auxilio, sed constantis fidei, & vehementis cogitationis vi, sanitas speretur. 'Tis a Legacy bequeathed to then, by God himself. Holy Remigius, a Reverend Bishop in France, with whose Unction this power flowed to the Kings of France, as the best Interpreter, doubtless, of this matter, hath declared, That this excellent Virtue is granted to Kings, so long as they shall remain constant in the Christian Faith; intimating, It would cease if they forsook, or fell from it; and so long as Faith remained either in King or Kingdom, he foretold, by the Spirit of Prophecy, he should be a victorious King: But alas, his Divinity here failed him! for, not long before our distractions in England, we being assistant to the Spaniard, the French were much worsted; of which says one, and not impertinently, 
When Wars in England once began  
Then flourished France, and not till than.   
Picardy was most part of it in a Flame; the Scene was laid by Cardinal Richelieu to introduce the Scots, he had all the qualities requisite to work a change of State, by his prudence the Stroke was diverted, he directed his designs to make that Nation flourish, which he lived to see effected; those that have but the least Spark of Love for the Glory of that Country, when they read but that name, it must needs raise in them, an esteem, never to be forgotten. Edward the Confessor, that had the reputation of a singular Piety, was deemed by the People one that could work Miracles, he cured not only those (which privilege descended to his Successors) but other Ulcers and Swell, which his Successors could not. This being therefore a Prerogative belonging only to the  Kings, is wholly wrought in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; it would therefore be a too audacious tempting of Providence, for other Kings, on whom she would not graciously bestow the gift, to attempt it. Further, 'tis worth the observance, That the Kings to whom God granted it, had it not been upon condition, that they would not transmit this power to their Successors, unless they were legitimate, and did remain stable in the Christian Faith. For if an Assassinate or an Usurper (such there have been too late, and God knows what Fates yet attend Kingdoms) should dethrone a lawful Prince, he could not (together with his Kingdoms) acquire this virtue. Quip pro Imperio, though Cromwell durst do any thing, and wrought no less than Miracles, for his time, he never so much as offered at this.  
That good King Charles the First, of ever blessed memory, when captivated by those imparalleled Miscreants, as his manner was, and as Tokens of his great love to many that had not deserved that kindness at his hands, he cured the Evil, small pieces of Silver was his gift, for alas he could not arrive to others, 'twas not the golden Age with him. I shall rehearse a Story, and a very true one, not long before he Acted his last on that horrid and execrable Theatre. A Great Anti-Royalist and Committee-man, had one only Child, a Daughter about ten years of Age, which was so blind for a year and a half together, with her Father's Evil, I may rather term it then any ones else, that she could not see at all, non minus morborum quàm possessionum haeredes, Naturae sequitur semina quisque suae. She was brought to Kings-Hatfield in Hertford-shire, to the Right Honourable the Earl of Salisburie's house, where His Majesty then was, and desired a Touch from His Sacred hand, which was done by Special Grace and Favour in one of the Gardens, towards the Evening; the next morning, she began to perceive a glimmering of light, that could not before distinguish the day from the night, but was constrained to be led constantly about the house by a Maid Servant: The Father finding so much benefit, and seeing relief at hand, became an earnest Petitioner for another Touch, which His Majesty (that he might complete the Miracle) presently vouchsafed; by the next morning, she was restored to her perfect sight. The Good man (I give him now that Epithet) her Father (because he proved so after) finding so much efficacy, so much of God in His Anointed, he forthwith began to burst out into tears, and accurse himself, and own him that he had disowned so long. The truth of all which is to be made out by persons of quality, with divers of inferior degree, which ought to be credited, being of good Life and Conversation. One remarkable story more I shall trespass upon your patience to repeat, being more concise than the last.  
A Child of a Gentlewomans of no mean worth, about Seven years old, being very infirm and evilly disposed, having received a Touch in the morning, in the Afternoon one of the Sergeant Surgeons, having a Regard for the Mother, came to give it a Visit. The Child he found leaning against a Couch in the Room; casually taking a few Pease out of his Pocket, which he used to employ in Fontanels, he trolled them along the Floor, whereupon the Child (taking them to be Plums) immediately made a shift to go after them, and took them up, which for some years before was seldom out of Arms, and in a very short time grew a great Commander of his Legs; This I aver, and from as good hands as the former. And should I go to particulars, and sum up all those Miracles (for I dare not call them less) that have been wrought by that Pattern of true Piety; A Prince whereof the World was not worthy; the best of all Christian Kings, now undoubtedly in Heaven, their number would be as admirable as their nature. But alas! Envy too oft attends upon a shining merit: yet virtue will still be virtue in despite of Fate; though they surreptitiously took away his earthly emoluments, and his Life into the bargain, they could not take the honour of this from him that gave it, nor the right thereof, from him that received it; the Heavens would not so much blaspheme their Maker: As the Fire of their wrath was too severe, so that of their Zeal, was much more; They were Devils certainly, that breathed in no other Element, then that of unheard of and barbarous Immanities'; they ran headlong in a graceless method; their Union was nought, but Conspiracy; their Strength, Outrage; their Hearts were too obdurate, forgetting all Pity, and Justice too; He became a Martyr for the People's offences, having few of his own, which he was not so much guilty of, as his Nature. Here fell a matchless piece of Innocency, merely crucified to the transgression of the times; we were too remiss in our duties to Him, for which we have as much cause to request God's Pardon, as now his Son's our Dread and Dear Sovereign Lord the King; 'tis far better to be subject to our true born Prince, rather than to Tyranny and Oppression.  
God be blessed for it, he is Rex hominum. His People will (I hope) obey him in any reasonable moderation, being sufficiently convinced, that he will not require that at their hands, but what may become the Spirit of amost Excellent Prince to demand, and Loyal Subjects to grant, may we be readier to give than He is to ask, at least to yield due Allegiance to Him, whereby to gratify the Candour, and Goodness of a too too much injured Patience.  
This Treatise is writ with an Intention to undeceive the World, and that Wise men may decline those vulgar Errors, not follow after mere shadows, and lose the Substance, those stroking Undertakers being warranted neither by Holy Writ, nor awful Authority of Antiquity or Probability of Reason; they are in the Judgement of the World, like our New lights, which like an Ignis fatuus, or Will with a Wisp, makes men run into such a Labyrinth, that they run themselves both out of what they have, and their Wits to boot. Truth does not always receive a just trial, by casual Events. Hap, is a mere Paralogism, a Fallacy, and grand Delusion, taking that for a true Cause, which is no cause indeed. Ease may sometimes be given, and the credit of it to those that do not deserve it. Opinion weighs much, 'tis true, and Kings are great Rarities, Seventh Sons are not. That which God doth bestow upon Kings, should be that, which both for the Rareness and Singularity of the Privilege, might more manifest his Glory; which would not be, if he should attribute the same thing, and that by right of birth, to any other. But to deal candidly and ingenuously with you, 'tis thus. This Disease of the Evil, is more proper to children, than any other, which by succession of years, by reason of heat, is many times dissipated, and hereupon islues a spontaneous ceslation thereof, which is usual with many of those that are incident to Children; and if thus it is effected, 'tis not to be attributed to the uncertain virtue, and power, of those kind of men, that Touch, who have no Religion at all in them, yet entitle themselves to it: But to Nature itself, whom Hypocrates styles, Morborum Medicatrix, The Lady Physician of all Diseases.  
Me thinks true Loyalists should set a considerable estimate upon the Bequest of a dead Sovereign; Let not a Jewel of so much worth be bangled away; should we, 'twould be an evident sign, we want that love for him which we truly aught to have, and that we cast an Eye of Contempt as well upon him as his Gift. 'Tis a Talon, entrusted with our now Sovereign, for an Improvement; such reputation were his virtues of, even in foreign parts, and amongst those with whom he was by some deemed, (as I may say, I hope without offence) an Heretic, that Strangers could not enough admire Him; His very Gesture was a Net, to catch their Good Wills.  
Exegit ibi monumentum aere perennius, quod nec imber edax, nec Aquilo possit diruere. To whose everlasting Honour be it spoken, notwithstanding all the Exigencies, that God had brought him under; all the Stratagems, Politics, and Fetches laid to ensnare Him; He still withstood them, and continued steadfast, being Resident some years where a contrary Religion was openly professed, and maintained; Homebred Incendiaries there were too many, but eternal praises be given to the King of Kings, ours was out of their reach, as to offer the least violence to Him, and therefore made it their work, to reach him with their Tongues, and, if possible, murder Him that way, persuading the People that He was warping towards Popery. To their shame never to be wiped off, be it retorted, and our Church's Glory asserted; He has been the same Defender of the Faith, and Protestant Cause, in the midst of the greatest Temptations, and strongest Adversaries; His Title was our Fame, the Truth of it our happiness, and will be His, for which very cause, as a reward of a pious Constancy against all Extremities, God wrought this for Him, the greatest of Miracles, and yet the highest of Benefits, to him, and to this Nation, His Restauration, which has filled the World with astonishment, as our Hearts with exceeding great Joy; and indeed, 'twas impossible, it should be otherwise, so much stability, and Divine qualities, as He is truly endowed with; Heaven must needs be forced to do some more than ordinary miraculous Act, for a Person on whom it had bestowed so many: Bonus Princeps à Domino datur, God was His Guide abroad, the Blessed Star that directed Him, and the Shield that protected Him, and at last gave Him to us; let us bless Him, for Him: Have but a Retrospect to His Princely Christian Patience, know that he might have had Foreign Aid, but, se malle vinci suis Armis, quàm Alienis victorem esse; he rather sat down peaceably conquered with His own men, then to be Conqueror with an Army of others. These were Endearments, great Love on His part; if there be not a Return on ours, we are worse than the vilest sort of men. God, you see, destined his Twelve years' Exile, that He might appear to us in greater Lustre and Transcendency. His Regress brought forth our Sun, which moving in His own Sphere, shines most gloriously, and rises only to do us good, with healing in His Wings.  
Plots we have had without number, laid and discovered by the first Contrivers of them, but this of His Majesty's Return, was a just, and a real plot, upon those Regicides, to bring them to condign punishment, to whom I durst once have appealed, and to their own Consciences, if they did not more repent them of what they failed to do, than what they did. They boasted themselves, Cod's Children, Saints, and what not; But alas! they were the Sons of men, and wicked men too, un-sanctified Saints, their Actions spoke them. They should have born a filial duty to their Lord and King. 'Tis labour in vain to endeavour to disjoin where God has made a firm Concatenation, tied a knot, not to be untied by frail mortality; many a good turn he has pleased to do us, but after His Return to us, being none of the meanest Blessings, we ought to Return to God Almighty all sorts of Devoirs, otherwise we don't deserve it. 'Twas not the Healing Convention that did it, but the great and sacred Counsels of Heaven. Let us not make ourselves wiser than our Maker, study not to withstand or oppose what he has appeared so miraculous in.  
Undoubtedly Monarchy is the most secure and most preserving form of Government upon Earth. Submit your Wills to Providence, no Oracle you can better rely upon, she knows what is best for you, yield to it, and your reward follows you. He that rebels against his lawful Prince, rebels against his God; questionless he that would destroy his Sovereign, would also destroy his God, standing in his way, so united are the Affairs of God and a King; he is in his Office like to Him, and subordinate to Him. You see that Serpentine Egg of Conspiracy is no sooner laid, but 'tis addled; he that is omniscient is not to learn which way ye intent to steer your Stratagem, but he prevents ye in it. The Devil he sets his Emissaries to work, and sits as Chairman in your Magical Conventions, to render Kings contemptible, and bring them into disgrace. The Plot's no sooner over, but the old Serpent, he gives them over too; you see, they are no sooner arrested by the Magistrate, but his power immediately ceases, in not being able to hinder the Justice of the Almighty, his force is broke, he cannot rescue them from it. They sin against God in Heaven, and his Church on Earth, and therefore 'tis thought meet that they should hang betwixt both, as being unworthy to enter the one, or tread longer upon the other. These confident sons of Mars melted away like Snow before our Sun; such is the difference betwixt prosperous wickedness, and persecuted Innocency. They much mistake, that think Divine Justice sleeps, when it does but wink a while at such Offenders. Those Sons of Belial, some of them, have felt God's Justice here, and, I have that charity for them, may they find mercy in Heaven.  
Machiavelli reports, in his Questions upon Livy that the French had once their Kings in such Esteem and Reverence, that they thought every thing did become them that they did, and that nothing could be more disgraceful to them, than to give any intimation that such or such a thing was not well done by their King, being absolutely possessed they could not do a-miss; I would to God this so excellent a virtue, had been first wafted over into England, with their fashions, and that 'twere now A la mode. 'Tis a capital Crime, and not venial, to Touch but Gods Anointed; David's heart smote him, that he cut off but the hem of saul's Garment.  
The Romans would have Rebellion to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, maximum crimen: and though a King hath not sancntitatem vitae, yet if he have sinctitatem unctionis, we are to honour him; he may err and have his failings, 'tis true, yet in such a case we are not to take up Gladium vindictae, but Scutum Patientiae; we must help ourselves, not by a violence against him, but by a holy violence, the force of prayer with God; we must be in charity with him, would we be entertained by him, whose Title it is to be the Prince of Peace, we must live peaceably with him, we have all the reason in the world so to do. Il ne parle pas au Roy qui veut, says the Monsieur: Not every one that would, may speak to Kings: but such is the great affability and condescension of ours, he desires that the most despicable, the most deformed, the poorest wretch in the world, may receive Grace from him gratis: Being not long since persuaded by some of his Surgeons to confine himself, to Touch such a certain number at a time; and being informed, that more were at the Palace gates, crying out for his succour and help, he told the Chirurgeon who was to attend the service that month, That his hand was in, and that all that were there, should then be received: And may it ever be in, may God's hand guide it; here's a true generous and Religious care, Piety is his Practice, Acts of Charity, his daily exercise. Observe but with what alacrity he does ye good; being sensible, that after he has designed relief for you, 'twould be, in some degree, a horrible cruelty to defer conferring of it: This Divine Privilege being granted to him, how unwilling is he, to intercept the endowment of the King of Kings. His Compassion becomes a debt, and to his evil Subjects, which he duly pays. As his Arms are always open to embrace us, so let our hearts and souls be always wide open, in fervent supplications for him, Détque Deus coeptis vela secunda suis.  
Whatever you have observed in him, that might raise love and admiration, is hourly augmented; every minute discovers in him new Treasures, of true goodness and Princely magnanimity. Be gentle to him, he is so to you; certain and innumerable cares attend a Crown. Frown not upon him, your cordial smiles will be restorative; do not discompose so noble and so sweet a disposition, whose chiefest care it is to do ye all good, to do you honour. Behold him without prejudice, and as one on whom God has been pleased to stamp much of his own power and Authority; if we pour out our prayers for him, we shall reap the fruits of them, they will return into our own bosoms. We are obliged both by the Laws of God and Nature, to be subject to our King; we may see he has more than ordinary of God in him; he has a shrewd insight into the event of things, and to foresee futurities; there was not one Arrow in all the Quiver of malice which was not shot at him; you that are disloyal, spend your venom; if you do not the sooner spit it forth, you'll grow to such a bulk, you'll burst before your indefatigable charms, tempered so much with gall, can take effect, be as bold as bitter. That Prince is truly great, that is as great in Loyalty as in Advice, being potent in Parliament, he is so insconsed in the affections of his people, that he is beyond the Trains of Treason at home, and I hope foreign hostility cannot pierce him.  
You see, he is not in love with that which generally most men are, what he has done without a Parliament and upon the score of his own reputation. This Expedition against the Dutch may fully convince you, he lays it up in store for you, he parts with it freely to you, 'tis for your safety and peace, aswell as his own. England was never till now in such an Equipage, we may boast of it, and of a Navy worthy of such a master, which strikes terror into all Nations, and begets the greatest admiration, for which his friends may well love him, his foes may well fear him: He is one that knows not how to do otherwise than truly like himself. His incomparable endowments and excellencies, have hitherto preserved him, but not you see from some commotions; yet Divine Wisdom may think it requisite in this life, to temper the felicity of humane Majesty with some Distempers.  
I cannot but call to mind the Prediction of that most Religious Prince in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That none would be more loyal to his Son, if God was pleased but to restore him, than those who, sensible of their errors, felt in their souls vehement motives to repentance, with desires to make reparation where they have done amiss, and that he would send them truly zealous to repay, with interest, that obedience and love to him, which was due to him. The King is now graciously pleased to look upon them, he receives them with all favour, and kindness, he has put a great trust into their hands, they have an opportunity, and (I may say) a blessed one too, to make the words good of that blessed Diviner, and do good to themselves in it; if they do not improve it, they were bad, very bade before, but now they will be thought ten times worse. I hope his Majesty's Lenity has brought them into their right minds, and that they are come to themselves again, in good earnest 'tis high time they should; by their Action now, the prints of their former Revolts may be quite obliterated: Victory 'tis true is in the power of the Almighty, and not in the hands of the insolent; those High and Mighty Hogin Mogins, who own an Obligation to England, for their first being: but all our good neighbourhood hath been perverted, better fruit uses to spring from the tree of Gratitude, theirs is turned into Presumption; as for Encouragement, these Commanders have enough, being the very same, and having success under Usurpation, 'tis impossible for them to want it, under their lawful Sovereign; further to animate them, they have Scripture to back them, God's promises, the haughty he will humble, he will most certainly destroy the proud, to qualify the rankness of their pride, and to cure them of the Pleurisy of it, I question not but God will give them strength and success to be their Physicians, to make them bleed for it. A good cause does wonders, those Ships cannot miscarry that are driven with the breath of good Prayers, and with wisdom, good conduct, and courage. If we shelter ourselves under the shadow of the Omnipotent, we are sure to be possessed of a most impregnable Fortress, a Hold, that will certainly hold, we cannot be deluded in our Trusts. A Commonwealth's too near us. I hope that the State of Affairs there, their State's General, and their general State too, may in a short time admit of a better form of Government; if not, I wish with all my heart that I might but live to see them reduced to their first Principles; to be once more styled, The poor distressed States. They have an old Proverb amongst them which has none of the best Omens, 
Those that bring themselves into needless dangers,  
Dye the Devil's Martyrs.  And I doubt not but we shall bring their Spirits down, even as low as their Country: Here are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Annulets, Golden Engines, to draw and incline the affections of the People to their King, ad Arcendas noxas alicui corporis parti, & collo alligantur; ye are secure enough, and when ye have so much kindness hanged about your necks, me thinks ye should be hanged before ye leave him.  
Having made Digression, rem ipsam jam aggrediar; Not long before His Majesty's Restauration, it was my fortune casually to be in Company with a Chirurgeon, who most audaciously and peremptorily vaunted, That he could never cure the King's Evil, till he had possessed himself with some of His Majesty's Lands: It was an Article in His Atheistical Creed, That this virtue went along with them, though in his undue possessions. I am yet to learn of any that ever yet adventured upon it, upon this Account, or that ever he experimentally found that success, never any yet prospered in Rebellion; God always will withdraw his Blessing from the bloody Hand. From the Influence of a good King, distils the Balm that cures the King's Evil; how many thousand in a year does he invite to draw near to him? amongst whom probably some are admitted, that he might most justly have commanded, rather a distance, who, when time was, would have laid their hands heavy upon him, had not God prevented it; Nevertheless, he is pleased to forget it, and lay his more tenderly upon them: Oh! may he in a more peculiar manner, be successful unto them, had he the Spirit of distinguishing, yet his goodness is such, that he would not withdraw his helping hand from them, like a true Angel of God, he does Good for Evil; he freely accepts them, and relieves them in their necessities, is kind to his worst foes, and remits, like an Excellent Prince and a good Christian, the wrong they have at any time done him: Nay, those that would not do him so much right, as to afford him their Assistance to help him to his, do not blush to claim an inherent right, to this Privilege, nay they suppose themselves born to it, though him, not long since, to nothing.  
Me thinks they should be diffident of a blessing; yet since they have so much esteem for their King, and that through his good fortunes he is credulous, may he be fortunate in the highest degree; they may rest satisfied, that God has endued him with so much power, as to effect this so great and eminent a work; may they live to have just Cause to repent them, that they have so evilly entreated him.  
May they show their Contrition, by living as becomes Loyal Subjects, than they shall not want my prayers, that God may wipe away that blood which lies upon them; Beneficium postulat Officium; Every benefit that we receive from our King, doth challenge a duty at our hands. Not long since, all humane Learning was trampled under feet; His Return has blessed us with the Resurrection of it. Before, we had many Lords, that vaunted much of Religion, but they divided it into so many Sects, and Errors, nay Blasphemies, according as the necessity of their Evil designs, and policy, led them, that one might well have asked, what the Religion of England was? But blessed be God that has restored our Princes as at the first, and our Counsellors as at the Beginning; Novares, nova cantica, for new mercies, we must find new praises. God has restored us to the Life of our Life, our Liberties and our Possessions; before, there were great pretences of Laws and a free born people, and what not; and these were, 'tis true, necessary to those that had no Title: We stand before God this day, the Subjects of many Blessings; being under the Power and Jurisdiction of an imparalleled Prince, Carendo magis quàm habendo, by the want of a King we should know the better how to value him; not to be thankful for him, and Gods mercies to us in it, is the death and destruction of mercies; not to acknowledge them, is as it were to make them our Adversaries. I would have them well husbanded, that they might be Reservations to greater mercies. As our thankfulness must appear in our Obedience towards God, so it must in our Obedience towards our King. Great Britain's Oak, had an immature, untimely fall, and yet there was one Royal one preserved to be Protector to Him. Regis & Regni Robor Robur, may we be loving to the Branch, though we were unfaithful to the Root. A Day of Special Deliverance, calls for a Day of Thanksgiving. His Majesty took too long a Progress in other Prince's Dominions, but that the great Divinity thought good to have it so, now he may take one in His Own Kingdom. And 'twas once supposed, that after His great and miraculous Conquest of Restauration, He would have visited that place of Worcester. God would have been pleased with such a Sacrifice: But alas! he has scarce yet had a Vacation from Persecution. The first thing that Theseus did, after the Victories over his Enemies, was to sacrifice the Spoils to the Tutelar Gods. As Hercules wore the Lion's Skin, as a Memorandum of his Victories, so may His Majesty, as an Addition to His Royal Coat, though never wear it out of His Memory, nor we neither, as an Emblem of that great and wonderful deliverance, The Royal-Oke.  
To perpetuate the remembrance of which, I wish in that very place an Hospital or Chappel were erected, and Demesnes for the maintenance of it, where there might be an Annual solemn Procession. I would not have this done by His Majesties Own Hand, but to His Hand by the public Stock, as an acknowledgement to the King of Kings, for that unspeakable mercy in the preservation of Ours. Perhaps I may have the Return of a severe censure for offering thus far: yet it cannot be said that I interpose in a business wherein I am not concerned, for I conjecture myself as much as any, and could His Majesty but be sensible of the thousandth part of the Passion, which I have ever had (I bless God for it) and solely for Him, I should have Pardon from Him, for taking this Freedom. He is the Ocean from whence flows those Rivulets of good Will, which in Gratitude, like them, would oblige us to make our Returns. Gratitudo est Gratiarum Actio, not a bare Thanks-saying, but a : we cannot do too much for him that has done so much for us; he has staunched that Issue of Blood under which we so long groaned, and has made it his work to bring us into acquaintance with Peace, and Prosperity: will we be thankful for these, and why not for health? Prayers and Praises ought to be always like the Angels of Jacob's Ladder, ascending and descending. When you approach His Majesty's presence, in tendency to the work in hand, go the right way, and you'll be sure not to fail of your end. Say with holy David ', his thy work O Lord, not man's power; Thy sacred Institution, not man's Invention. It has been a question in the Schools, An liceat uti verbis ad morbos pellendos? It shall now be put out of dispute, for God has promised that what soever we shall ask in his name by Divine ejaculations shall be done unto us. Behold the modesty of His Sacred Majesty in the very Act expressed, Deus sanat omnes infirmitates nostras, I Touch and God heals: No charm like this Divine Sentence in the Lips of the King, words worthy to be written in Letters of Gold, with the Pen of a Diamond, full of attractions, and secret allurements, and like the spirit of so Holy and so Magnificent a Prince; he does not assume the honour to himself, for fear of Cancelling that never to be forgotten Gift, vouchsafed him by God, in which he is made, next and immediate to him, the sole instrument to do good to his people. What can satisfy more, that when he has done things super captum rationis humanae, super omnem doctrinam divinitus concessum, 'tis supernatural, an Art that lies above the reach of every Brain: Divine mysteries are not to be measured by the short Plummet of humane Reason, our Understandings are much too shallow to fathom them. Magnalia Deisumma & miraculosè conspiciuntur; Let us not pry into the Ark of God's Secrets, 'tis too presumptuous Arrogancy in any, to question that which was never yet revealed. The Royal Hand is accompanied with God's Hand, he approves it by many Miracles, which exceed the condition of Law and Nature; what He does should beget a firm belief in us, and 'twere Impiety for a Christian in the least to doubt it; when 'tis done by his never-failing power, stop thy overbold Inquiries, with a Deus sic voluit. Yet there are too many that will not trust Faith on her single Bond, unless Reason be joined for Security with her. The Substance of Hope is the Being of Being's, our being well, 'tis no shadow, here Faith is no fancy, there must be reality in it, since 'tis not exercised in a delusory work, which not to credit, is, in a degree, a kind of Blasphemy. Is any thing hard to God Almighty? He is not like unto him that promiseth and performeth not, wait for him in this serious and solemn Ceremony, and he will certainly come and heal thee. Hitherto the Touch has been solely touched upon, especially that from the hand of His Sacred Majesty, in which there is so much efficacy, That I want Charity, to be reconciled to the Philosopher, that asserted Tactum to be ignobilem, and inserted it in the Rear of all the Senses; it shall have my Vote for the future, to have the Precedency in our new Philosophy. I shall now entreat upon the Gift, as well as the Giver, being indeed Individual, and then I must be in Consult with Angels, good Angels, good Gold. The Blessings of the Father of our Country: Aurum cum primis efficax praesentissimam vim obtinet, in expugnandis saevissimis morbis, atque instanrandâ valetudine ubi collapsa est; which introduces a Story of that most experienced person Doctor Butler of Cambridge, who being sent for to the Earl of Lincoln's Son, finding him desperate ill of a malignant Fever, and speechless; As soon as he came into the Chamber, he calls to the good old Earl for Gold; he was a great Humorist, His mind to him a kingdom was; at length that dumb God Gold appeared: The Doctor, instead of putting it into his pocket, as those that knew him not, might very well have suspected, crams as many pieces into his Patient's mouth as it would well contain: At which sight, says the good Earl, If he will eat Gold, Doctor, he shall have it, but beware good Doctor you do not choke my Child; continuing a while in his mouth, they came out as black as a Coal. The malignity thus spending itself, the Gentleman recovered, so that you see Regina Pecunia Quid non? what wonders Gold will do; She sits Queen Regent at the helm of all Affairs, made him to speak that would not speak before. Gold, by the Impress of its purity, does omnem à corpore impuritatem dejicere; Angel Gold, does spiritus foetidos spirare, & vi quadam attractrice pollere; once in the bosom, 'tis a good friend, and being tried by that vestal Fire, must needs do him good at heart that has it. Some think, that if they have but a Touch from the King, they are presently made whole, their work is at an end; they are to begin again: Some say, they care not if they get a Touch; but touch not upon that string with so much indifferency, such Approaches mar the Success, though Angels, and good ones, attend the Service. There must be Auri sacra fames, when 'tis Aurum vitae, and infinite Restorative, habet spiritum secretissimum, & coelestem imaginem Dei gerens; if so, no Crucifix more potent. May the celestial powers, the whole Hierarchy of Angels, that never slumber nor sleep, be our Sovereign's Lifeguard; they can obviate all approaching Evils, and help Him, and protect Him, in and under so sovereign a dispensation, so consistent with His Prerogative; let this be the Return of our loudest praises, that we give Glory to God on High, fear Him, and honour our King. And that ye may be sure to find benefit in your Addresses, let this be the Rule, Make not your desires the sole Rule of your Prayers, but submit your Wills to God's Will; that's a duty incumbent upon you. Prayers have wings for flying, without fear of falling: Say with good Ezekiah, Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Though the difficulties are many, yet Faith, which hath a kind of an Impotency will carry you through all. Ille plures sanat, de quo plures confidunt; The Sick man's confidence, ofttimes speeds beyond all other remedies, confidentia & alacrilas morbos sublevat.  
The Noble Greek gave not that name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for nought, quasi basis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, quoth in Rege salus populi fundata est, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Virtue and Regal Excellency meet for such a Prince, it adds Lustre to His Royal Person, and makes Him the more Conspicuous and Illustrious in the Eyes of all His People. Some are of that Judgement that the Commonness of the Gift, makes it to be dis-esteemed; Yet, bonum, tanto est melius, quanto est communius. God will not unmake his Miracles, by making them common. May we be hearty affected with the true sense of God's mercy to us in it, otherwise we make it but a formal Compliment, which will not be approved of by him from whom it is first derived; you have the Hands of God and a King hand in hand, concentrating in one, and employed as Supravisors of the work. There is so constant a Communication betwixt them, that 'tis impossible but to effect any thing. A good and pious Prince we have, a King that dropped down unexpectedly from Heaven, whose works are without compare. When a Man does that which another cannot do, we usually say He conjures; pardon I pray the Expression: That Magic is laudable and lawful, where there is not Potentia in nocendo sed Restituendo. He is an Object for Love and Wonder to stand amazed at.  
The Gesture, when we come to receive these Bona Throni vel Scabelli, is kneeling, which denotes true humility and reverence, and that we ought to pay to him some Tribute from our Bodies. God pays us well for our pains, and sends an Angel home with us: Aurea remedia, we have golden rewards. Myserium ho celandum, were it not that the effects daily prove so visible; nothing weakens a man's confidence like Ingratitude, the calling to mind of which, fills the heart with diffidence. Let us speak of Him as becomes us, reverently imitating the Tongues of the Apostles, with holy Language; he deserves it at our hands. The comforts we receive, and particular pledges of true kindness from Him, should, methinks, beget the re-inforcement of love, proportionable to his merits. And let me tell you, that he differs only from the Angels, rather in place, than condition, because he has conferred on him while on Earth, a portion of Heaven, Angelical Gifts. He is a Prince of easy access and a patiented ear, and patent, indefatigable in hearing us, one that does not expostulate why we come at any time to give him trouble, because he thinks it none, supereminent Indulgencies conveyed us. Love's Envoys and Amour vain tout for'rs que coeur fellow, Love overcomes any thing but a froward or despiteful heart. If we will not be like ourselves, may we be like the Sabine women, with love and Intercession which conquered two Armies, a Victory more eminent than the Sword can win, and none surer than the Victory of Prayer. When you go to celebrate this Mystery, let not your mind be like an Individuum vagum; if it be, 'tis but mere Lip-labour, a sacrifice as unacceptable, as that of Cain's. If you make your addresses amiss, wonder not if you miss, 'tis all the odds as may be, but you will: Prayer is the Key that opens the gates of heaven, 'tis the never-failing means of bringing thee, if not all that thou thinkest thou wantest, yet all indeed thou dost. Let your affections be as strong as your faith. But what's the reason then, say some, that so many Infants and young Children, that have not the least sense of faith, in them, have redress in their addresses? You shall have my sense upon it, 'Tis because they are the Children of true believing Parents, and 'tis impossible the Children of so many Prayers and Tears should be ineffectual, or return without a blessing: The Prayer of the humble pierceth the Clouds, and will not admit of the least jot a of denial, till the Highest accomplish their desires; 'tis like Saul's Sword, and Jonathan's Bow, never returns empty. Make not your approaches to your King, for Company, or Fashious sake, as too many do, but with a true acknowledgement that God is the great spring from whence the benefit must flow, he is much deceived that trusteth too much to himself; where too much confidence is in the means, you thrust out God, who must not be an unconcerned Spectator of humane affairs, he is worth the care of engaging him on your side. Pray not more to the Chirurgeon for access, then to God for success; gratify them where you find kindness, but let not your Fees fly faster than your Prayers.  
Do you expect good by it, doubt of your own worthiness; there is none wanting in the King. This blessed Mystery so graciously dispensed by God's Vicegerent here upon Earth, cannot but be sowed in sufficient power; if there be weakness and folly in them that approach to receive it, if you vacate the Gift, and frustrate the intent of the Donor, 'tis not the King's salt, nor aught to be laid to his charge, charge yourselves with it. When relief does come, it does not always come in that same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of time when the Touch is vouchsafed. There must be obedience to him that Toucheth, aswel as belief in him to approve it by. Of those ten in the Gospel that were cleansed of their Leprosy, there came but one to pay his thanks, yet I fear there is not one in ten hundred, though he receives as much benefit as he can possibly desire, that comes with his acknowledgements; may he do it to God, and pay his Allegiance to his King: Nay, 'tis credibly reported of a Gentlewoman, that Seventeen years after she had received what her own heart could wish for, from the hand of that good King, who did us all good, though we did him all harm, (whom I cannot mention without tears, and a Preface of all due honour and respect) she sent her Angel to Goldsmiths-hall, to be employed against him; This was a piece of high unthankfulness, and aught to have had a better requital. Great Ingratitude, great punishment; How just had it been with God Almighty to have brought upon her, as a scourge for so much wickedness, a Recidivation of former accidents, nay, worse than before, more contumacious and Rebellious, like herself? she had been paid in her own Coin, and had a reward suitable to her merits. Oh Temporal! Oh Mores! when injustice and contempt of all truth and honesty was justified, when Rebellion was brought into countenance and made the mode and fashion of the times, which ought never to be upon record; he that shall leave them to posterity, if without partiality he writes them, he will certainly have as much water in his Eyes, as Ink in his Pen, wherein lived a Generation of cursed Achitophel's, which dreaded the singularity of being innocent. They found a new gate to heaven, not opened before, to cut their way thither through the throats of the immaculate; Subjects should be Adjectives, not able to stand without (much less against) their Lord and Master, or they will make but bad construction; Had Zimri peace, that slew his Master? Oh Lord! keep us by thy restraining grace from going along with the rude multitude, by seeming to right the People, though wrong the King. Let us pray for him as well in times of quiet as of danger, as well when War is but smoking, as when 'tis blown into a flame. Let us be constant and not given to change. 'Tis Treason summo gradu, in the highest malignity, to lay the calamity of the People upon on the Prince, as if the Disease begun in the head, when properly it terminates there. A King that forecasts and fore-cares, I am confident, to make you all the better for him, what horrible injustice will it be in you to injure him? I wish the very Heathen may not rise up in judgement against you; They were praying for their Emperors, though condemned by them, in the midst of the flames, Every man (saith Solomon) should be a friend to him that giveth Gifts; he is greatly ours, his favour is as Aurora's dew, which purleth the spangled grass; such innate seeds are sown in him, as will ever improve him, never deprave him: Behold him as one, In quo virtutes omnes elucent, & quem colere nihil aliud est, quàm virtutes ipsas colere; to reverence him, without flattery, is nothing else but to adore his virtues. Let us receive his Commands, as if they came from heaven, and behave ourselves towards him, with due observance, and not, upon any pretence of infirmity whatsoever, contemn him. God has most miraculously owned him amongst the storms of State and War; he has sailed through a boundless Sea of bliss, Si insuperabilis inseperabilis. Division is like Fire from above, infinite destructive; men's constitutions and their spirits were volatile, but now I hope God has fixed them, and will keep those qualities in a right temper and just Symmetry amongst themselves. A true Princely disposition, moderated with so many inward qualifications, as meekness, sobriety, and indeed what not? merits the whole Trump and sound commendation and applause above all other. He is one whom I could dwell upon to admire, and lose myself in the Maze: Yet Tantus quisque est quantus est apud Deum; Every one is so great as he is in God's account; but to be Good and Great is admirable. Let it not be made a crime to do good; Charity may legally be Acted without purchasing Licence ad practicandum. You may see we have more Gifts than one from him, we had a common deed of Gift, of General Pardon, of which we are most unworthy, if we do not every day grow better and better, if we are not the better for mercies, we must be the worse. A good Christian must inevitably be a good Subject; I must confess I have one quality in me, for which I have been blamed by many, though in my own apprehension I conceive it none of the worst, which is, that I cannot be in good earnest in Charity, with any that ever went out, but to fight against their King; some to this day are so obstinate, that they will use Arguments to palliate, as if 'twere possible to extenuate, that great and crying abomination, that horrid Murder of their King, so notoriously committed; public acknowledgement with Godly sorrow for it, were the only balm to expiate: when 'tis urged against them, they have this Plea in a readiness to retort, That they went not out to fight against him, but to draw him from his evil Council. They knew their King was forced to open hostility, and to set up his Royal Standard Se defendendo, and try his Title. Alas, will some say, we broke off in good time; They had so indeed, had they not first broke the Ice (the more Capital their crime) and then broke out into open Rebellion. Would they have acquitted themselves fairly? Why did they not then, when they heard their King and such a Lord and Master was in the Field, but that they intended, as plainly since has appeared, to be His; Why did they not then, I say, throw down their Arms and themselves at His Majesty's feet, and pay their Allegiance to him, that he might graciously have received them into His? They had just cause to do it.  
Those that adventured at the beginning of the Rebellion their lives and fortunes to preserve their King, his Heirs and Successors in their just Rights; those were the men, those were those that were right and true Subjects, too many of them have been since sufferers indeed, and only upon the score of Loyalty, for whom I have a very particular regard, because I see them by some so little regarded. His Majesty is so gracious of himself, that he has owned many of them, and would more, were there not those that interpose too much betwixt the beams of that favour and grace, which probably have not themselves deserved it, some have been and are countenanced too much, few as they ought; so that in the opinion of those, they are like old Almanacs out of date, or stand for cyphers. I must confess, as 'tis well known, I have been zealous for the poor castaway Chavalry, for which I have received often reproof and checks, and merely for speaking but my conscience in their behalf, and have had it retorted upon me with the greatest wonder, that one that was never in Arms for His Majesty, should be so earnest to gratify men that would never be satisfied; But I cannot be of that persuasion. 'Tis true, I was not in Arms for him, yet I bless God for it t●●●, and for nothing almost more, than that I never was against him; yet 'tis probable I have done him no less service, than some that were with him, the truth of all which others enough can assert, and I have retained within me, without the least stain, that principle becoming both an honest man and a good Subject, Loyalty to my now Sovereign and his Father of ever blessed Memory before him, and in the worst of times, durst maintain their Prerogatives; and I suppose such are none of the worst Subjects. My aid, God willing, shall never be wanting to cast a mite into his Treasury, and without Ostentation I speak it, and upon Review it will appear, that I have upon all occasions contributed, beyond indeed what I have, and have exceeded many, that have far exceeded me in estate. Thus I have done with as sincere Devoires as any He that His Majesty is pleased to have the best thoughts of; I have done but my Duty in it, and I shall not forget to do that still, unless a Lethargy possess my Brain; All I have, as I do, in good earnest, own from his Sacred Majesty, so I shall cheerfully be ready to prostrate it at his feet, with my life into the bargain for Him or His, whom I esteem your Royal Highness.  
Screw up all his Majesty's Actions, and you will find them miracles, celebrate his praises beyond what those of men, might or aught to aspire to, and though he Touch the Evil, may no Evil touch him. Let not the gates of Hell prevail against him. My unfeigned and uncessant Prayers shall ever (God willing) attend him; and my curses, those that wish him worse than their own souls. Those that will not say Amen to it, deserve to be hanged, I pray God they be not damned. And may there never want one from that Royal Stem to govern us, and Sway the Sceptre to the end of the world.  
And now, Royal Sir, may all your Achievements be crowned with Victory. May you have more Friends than Flatterers. The greatest hope I have of success in this grand affair lies in the justness of our Cause, the provident and abundant care of his Majesty for our preservation, the prudence and courage of your Highness: That benevolent aspect which hath raised the general love of all to you, doth in this occurrence incline the great ones, the Nobility and Chivalry of the whole Nation to wait upon you: those hearts your Highness lately carried away with you, were not at such a loss as we were then for your absence, nor expected you with more impatience. At such a season the stoutest might well have been weary of such Service. Fortitude in a Prince, is a virtue, true, but dangerous, should you miscarry we are at a loss irreparable. Great Sir, we have fraught this our little Vessel with Commodities of no small price. If these notions hold water, as I hope they will, there will be no great fear of Leaking, The more fit and seasonable the Present, to present such an Admiral. Such a one it is as may do wonders: the greatest conquest is that of hearts and affections. These take as Plots upon all the forces both by Sea and Land, to reinforce them, if possible, to that which has been too long at too low an Ebb: In this case, to promote Love, is an Art very lawful and justifiable both before God and Man. This Tract is calculated exactly to this Meridian, and designed on purpose, as a Specifique and Sovereign Antidote, defensive furniture against the sudden incursions upon the Palace-Royal, and that never-enough to be detested Sin, which fretteth like a Gangreen, and menaceth to eat out the Life and Soul of Monarchy and Religion, Rebellion. Undoubtedly, to effect this, is none of the worst piece of Service, but a very good piece; and if so, I shall think my pains well spent, and have the less regard to Censure: No times have ever yet vouchsafed to the worthiest of Personages, an immunity from malignant Tongues, 'twere Vanity therefore in me to expect it. To endeavour but a public good ever yet merited a Commendum, though not so well performed as really intended; and this give me leave to say, He must needs have a strange vitiated Palate to whom none of these will Relish. This Tract is but of yesterday, as 'tis short, so 'tis sweet, breathing forth odoriferous and most fragrant vapours into the Nostrils of all that are truly Loyal; and I wish 'twere like the Manna in the Wilderness, which adapts itself to every Man's Gusto.  
Having touched long upon a Golden Subject, the Metal being tried by the Touchstone of your Highness' most Gracious Acceptance, I have abundantly my Reward; and for attempting to deserve your favour, I hope I shall not disserve my Prince, to whom, I am not more by Conscience bound, than I shall, through all the Actions of my Life, ever own a particular Inclination to express my humble duty. Having trespassed thus much upon your Highness' Patience, 'tis high time to turn my Sails towards the Shore, and cast Anchor for the Present: Eadem magnanimitate quâ magna munera donas parva munuscula accipe; it hath been a Grace for Greatness, at mean men's hands, to accept of small Gifts.  
If this chance to have the Honour to kiss His Majesty's most Sacred Hand, 'tis more than the Author has yet had himself; if it arrives to that, he has his end; and the Erratas, and Evil in it, will admit of a perfect Cure.  
THE END.