An Answer, TO THE Bishop of ROCHESTER's Second LETTER.   

AN ANSWER TO THE Bishop of Rochester's SECOND LETTER TO THE Earl of Dorset, etc.  
By an Englishman.  
LONDON, Printed for A. Smith, MDCLXXXIX.   

AN ANSWER TO THE Bishop of Rochester's SECOND LETTER, etc.  
Right Reverend,  
ACTS of Mercy descend with Power, and come well Recommended from the Crown, to be Received with the highest Gratitude by the People: but Acts of Justice are our Lasting Securities; And tho' we are Aptto pity the Afflicted, yet Public Crimes require Public and Real, Expiations.  
Such as I am, from Observation and Good Wishes, pretend to discern Safety, and the Kingdom in a State of Recovery, past danger of Relapse; but Justice must be Vindicated. There are Measures, in proper Season, Necessary for Confirming All, lest the Government seem Precarious and, Desperate Persons, having Screwed up the Preparatories for our Ruin to the height, may discourage, very Useful Subjects, if, instead of Effectual Atonements, they shall be Able to Word Us into their Impunity.  
In good Earnest, my Lord, nothing urges a Sensible Man more to speak his Mind Freely, than while his Purse is draining, or Blood letting out in the Rescue of his Fellow Subjects (and the more remote they are, the more at Heart it is with him) to find the Enemies of his Country, and their Peace, at Home, in Plenty, and Ease, scarce Tributary, but Remaining in Preferment, or Enjoying the Acquisitions of Rapine; Ready, perhaps, for more upon the first Opportunity, and in the mean time, under the Tenderness of some Illustrious, Spotless, Friend, between a Smile and Disdain, laughing in their Sleeves, at the Worshippers of Truth, and despising the Companions of Honesty.  
I am so much a Roman, as to shed a Tear for an Acquaintance in Misery, but cannot forget who Condemned a Son. When I hear it said, Spare him for his Parts? My Reply is, Punish him the more, and not make that which Explains his Condemnation, the Reason of his Indemnity, I can no more Excuse an Ill Man, for his good Parts, than, I would be supposed to write against the Church of England, in answering the Bishop of Rochester, or to Arraign the Profession of the Law, from whence so many of the Nobility, are Descended, in saying, there have been Wicked Judges, and as Bad Councillors.  
The Text that informs me, the Samaritan was Neighbour to the Traveller, tells me, likewise, who was not. He is my Neighbour, who pours Oil into my Wounds, and my Friend, that lets me retain the Image of God, in the Freedom of a Man. Wit, and Parts, are of full Age at Five and Twenty, and must form into Judgement, with Reference to some Fundamental of Principle, by Thirty, otherwise, it is an Escape, if He runs not into Depravation, and a narrow One, if the public Justice of his Country does not at one time, or other, overtake his Extraordinary Actions.  
I am, therefore, Englishman enough to hope for Justice, and Christian enough to desire it in Mercy, yet so Exerted, That she may show her Head, in this glorious Revolution, and call to Account, those Unfaithful Servants who Delivered up her Keys, & Notorious Offenders, that broke in upon her Administration, Pursuing her Assertors to destruction, if the same God, who many Thousand Years ago brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, had not Remembered Us in her Low Estate, and Excited this Heroic Prince to Assist the Restoring our Paths, in the Establishment of our Religion and Laws; Secure for Ages: Unless Divided, through Prejudice, and Trifling Disappointments, instead of joining, as one Arm, against our Common Adversaries Abroad, regardless of the whole, We part into Contemptible Faction, and Labour among ourselves; Or, Frighted into a Stupidity at the Very Sight of our Escape, we become Unserviceable to our own Advantages; Or rather, Degenerated by a Vicious Age, we have lost our Courage, and our Priests their Zeal.  
If the Markets of Fortune do not take up our Thoughts, the Fields of Honour are Open to all our Virtues; The Desolation in Ireland calls for our Sharpest Resentment, and the Outrage of France is a Scene Worthy our Gallantry. Things, like Men, have their Climacterick, they may out live, but they shall Languish; Periods, also, are set, the Harvest of Impiety may be Ripe for the Avenger, and the Visible Concurrence of Human Means is a Sign the Decree is gone out.  
The Authorities are too many to be Repeated, and discoursed upon in the Compass of a Letter, but they are Known and Satisfactory to All, whose Interest, affection, or long habit of maxim controls not the Use of their Judgement; And too strong to be confuted in a Day, when the most Noble Part of Liberty, the Dictates of Reason are allowed, Vouching to Us, That Kings by a General Derogation from the Laws, they are Trusted to Support, may Distress Themselves.  
It is not Impossible, but Liberty Regained in One Quarter of the World, may sound Charmingly into Another, and Wisdom Prevail against Bigotry to an Empty Name. Constitution of Government, and Ancient Laws may gain a Preference before the Will or Empire, and Considerate People groaning under Heavy Burdens, if a Friendly Hand appears to Ease then Shoulders may incline to throw them down, and hearken after a clear Possession of Religion, and Property with Old Age, under their own Vines and Figtrees, rather than Fatigue in Slavery, to be Driven up and down, as Chaff, by the Breath of Lust, and Training up their Children, from Generation to Generation, to Pall Untimely Sacrifices to the Wild Efforts of Ambition.  
Nor is any Prince, so far above the Reach of Fate, but if the Happy and Wise Restorer prove Comprehensive to Fix Nations upon their Respective Solid Interests, Uniting Contraries, as in the Body of Man, so to Balance, and from thence to Work up one mighty Compound in the Bodies of State, but the Nursery of the Cardinal may happen to End in Convincing the Oppressor.  
The Time I parted with to Undress the Commissioner in my Last, my Lord was to come the Better at the Adviser in This, and tho' I might reduce the Historian to another Character with Ease, yet taking no Pleasure in Accusation, I will consider some Paragraphs in the beginning of your Second, introducing me to your Notions of Council at the Latter End, and refer all the Rest to Those, who more Concerned in the Reflections, may if they think Fit, find a more Compendious Way of Answer.  
The First Paragraph of the Letter.  
My Lord,  
I Cannot in good Manners make my Address to your Lordship in another Letter, without Premising my most humble thanks for your favourable Acceptance of the Former, and for your kind Recommendation of my Plea to Men of Honour and Goodness, by the Powerful Authority of your approving it,  
And now, my Lord, since you have in so generous a manner, admitted me once to be your Client, I am come again to put my whole Cause into your Hands. For, it was my chance, I know not how to have a share in one, or two other Public Affairs of the late Times, as obliges me to a second Defence. Though I have always thought, that next to the Committing Offences, nothing can be more grievous to an Ingenuous Mind, than to be put upon the Necessity of making Apologies.  
Answer. Upon what Terms the Powerful Earl of Dorset admitted your Person, accepted and recommended your Plea, is strange to none, who have the Honour to know that Lord, the Strength of his Unquestionable Judgement gave Way to the Object of his Compassion; But if his Lordship had vouchsafed me leave to Publish such a Plea, a Thought would have come in my Head, that he put me upon my Country, and the most I could hope from his Indulgence was, that if they found me Guilty of Ignorance, he would not Trouble himself to Charge me with more Understanding, than my Present Circumstances required, and from that Minute should have determined with what regard to move towards his Lordship in a Second; For tho' Easy to be entreated, is the very Note of Greatness, and from the Consideration of Infirmity, the worst of Men sink gently with them, nor is Disdain to be seen in their Countenances without a Line of Charity; Yet, on the other side, my Lord, the Uncorrect Looseness of Argument Profanes Honour, and Care is to be taken by Men of Talon, lest the Dignity of the Patronage, lessen in the Presumption of the Client; Not, that the Gravity of your Pen ought to approach his Lordship with the Ceremony of an Ambassador; nor yet, my Lord, after a Daub of vain Compliment, with such an Indifference, or Negligence of Hand, as if your Design was upon the Quality, not the Authority you Address to.  
A Mien between both, agreeable to the Case, with respect to the Person, Soft but withal Masculine, is far better Written to a Lord, than, It was my chance, I know not How to have a share, etc. That Language cannot Usher an Apology with Reputation into the Opinion of the most Uncurious, I fancy after one Letter, with so much Ignorance in it; such was my Unhappiness to have Share, etc. A Style more becoming your Condition, my Lord, than Chance, or I know not how, in another, More pressing into the Good Nature of the Englishman, because the One has in it, a Symptom of Reluctancy, the Other, of Force or Disaffection, and Looks as if the Man was Still the same Inward (which Heaven forbid) but our Redemption against his Will, had put him to the Necessity of Apology, for his Share in the Enslaving Us.  
It was your Chance, you know not how, in your Sleep, it may be, to have a great many Papers Conveyed under your Pillow, which made you Dream of Blackbirds and Goldfinches, of Goose Quills and Crow Quills, Assassinations, and Bow upon Bow, where the Steeple of Bow, brought in the Story of the Cross-Bow, and a Thousand Fantastio Miscellanies, the Ramble of a Mercurial Working-Brain, And from the Natural Aversion you have to any 
p. 6.  Business, that may Reflect Severely, your Inclination rather leading you to the other Extreme, that is, rather to Commend too much, what in the least seems well done, than to Aggravate what is Ill done by others, For instance, my Lord, Tarentum in your satire upon the French Historiographer where you bring in the Presbyterians pleasing Themselves with Expectation of Religious Liberty, from a Share they had in the Restoration of Charles the Second, or Troubled at Forgetting the Promise of Breda, and from the Innate, Healing Quality you are endued with, rather to commend too much, what in the least seems well done, than to aggravate what is ill done by others, Charity all over, you submit to honour them, as thus far Contributory to the Blessed Work, That if they had not Driven him Out, he had never been restored.  
From that natural Aversion you have to Reflect, your Inclination we all know, leading you to Panegyric between sleeping and waking, your Lordship Writ, That which King James the Second Calling for the Papers, and having Read them, and Altered divers 
p. 7.  Passages (not Telling Us, what those Alterations are, but no doubt, for the Good of the Protestant Religion.) Caused to be Printed, by his own Authority (Perfectly against your Will) as to be seen before the Book, and in every Line of it (your Lordship being wholly Passive, and rather bearing a Share of Grief for the Victims, than Contributing to the Fall of their Honours (the Dearest part of Them) after Dispatching their Bodies, and Came Out under the Name of History, deserving another Denomination. And when the Benign Virulency of your Wit had pursued Men with Uncharitable Characters beyond Death, with more Delight, than Constraint of Mind, Et quae, Poeticis magis Decora Fabulis, quam Incorruptis rerum gestarum Monument is tradenda fuerunt, no sooner is the Artillery turned, but you are in Passion for my Lord Russel, you Lamented, after you had been Fully Convinced by Discourse with the Reverend Dean of Canterbury, of that Noble Gentleman's great Probity and Constant Abhorrence of Falsehood. Delicate Words! But that was a good while after you say, such was your Ignorance of the Upright, but Obscure, Lord. Russel, your Lordship, who had lived so many Years about the Town, could not be Convinced of his Probity, till after he had suffered Martyrdom, any more than you understood his Grace of Canterbury took Exception to the Legality of the Ecclesiastical Commission, till after my Lord of London had been Cited, Appeared, had Answered, and the Unjust Sentence passed upon him.  
Ignorance and Chance, by your own Account, have carried the Ascendant over the Last Scenes of your Life, my Lord, in a wonderful Manner; But, a Reader, less Tender, than your Answerer, tho' he would not altogether disown the Philosophy, that Accident governs the World, Adding, in Subordination to Providence, for Chance makes Cases here, Engaging Men, for the better Connection in Support of Societies to Mutual Obligation by unexpected Standing in Need One of Another; Yet, by the Course of your Actions, from the time of a Certain Sermon, for which you had No Thanks, and from whence (such is the Curse of Variance between a King and Subjects, the People receive the Banished from Court, and the Court Embraces the Disregarded by the People) some derive your Advancement, and Others your Misfortune; From that Hour, my Lord, to the day of the Bishop's Trial, above Eight Years in a State of Ignorance, and Chance, as you carelessly allege, but of most Dangerous Observance, (as Sense interprets) such a Reader, my Lord, would sooner imagine the Parts were made for the Sake of the Representer, knowing how well they Suited his Genius to Describe them; than that Chance, brought your Lordship so often, and so Artificially, upon the Stage.  
He that with a Common Eye looks into this your Second Letter, shall find in it, Expostulation, no Apology; Raised above that by the First Admittance, Remorse Vanishes, the least Shadow of Condescension to Chance, and I know not How, brings your Lordship to a Position of Assurance. There have been indeed, those, whose Haughtiness of Mind bearing down all the Rest of their Faculties, hath deceived them into a Superlative Idea, of their being Above Apology, they have perished in Falls Unnatural, tho' not Unpitied: But, if a Bishop, a Pattern of Humility, One who to be Great among Us, is to be our Minister, shall Dare give it under his Hand, that, He always thought next to Committing Offences, Nothing can be more Grievous to an Ingenuous Mind, than to be put upon the Necessity of making Apologies; In English no more, but Owning a Miscarriage in Decency of Reasoning to Unload his Conscience, if that be so very Grievous to the Ingenuous Mind of a Bishop, I take his Apologies to be like his Compliances, One, the Result of more than Ignorance, or Chance, the Other, of much less than Contrition, and without charge upon myself of any Disrespect either to his Quality or Function, Conclude, tho' with a Modesty, even to Tameness of Expression, that the Best and most Ingenuous Part of the Apology, Lies, in Confessing the Necessity to make it.  
To what Advantage might an Elaborate Man, in Concern for the Injuries done his Country display this Abundant Paper; How easily, my Lord, might a Pen, if like yours, Incapable of Parting with a Luxuriant Stroke for the sake of Persons or Families, take down these Altars of Praise you have Built to Others, Contriving to annex yourself, however without Detraction from the Merit due to any whomsoever, I will reduce the Overflowings within Bank, bring them to Fact, and Qualify the Magnificent Apology, Showing that your Better Understanding, Proceeded, not from Argument but Appearance, terrible Aspect, and dreadful Apprehension your own Words, my Lord, are very Dogmatical; Full Satisfaction may seize People in Lightning, and they may be Struck with the Convincing of Thunder.  
Only, by the way, my Lord, whereas you seem to entitle yourself to something or other, within Guess, by incurring the Displeasure of our Two Last Kings, in declining to Write against the States of Holland, during the First and Second Dutch Wars, 
Pag. 6.  I humbly desire, if any thing in these Papers tempt your Lordship to a Third Apology, or a Reply, that you will please to let us know, if they desired you to Write in Prose, for neither of those Wars, or Depredations afforded Subject Matter for one Paragraph of Truth; How, Specious soever, the First might be rendered, in the Frenchified Heat of our Honey Moon after the Restoration (the Effect, of Private Sentiments in Religion here, tho' he seemingly took part with the Dutch against us) I am sure, No Man, will say, but the Second was an Apparent Violation of the Law of Nations, the Triple League broke on our side (with Grief be it remembered by Us, and very unkind in your Lordship not to bury) against all the Rules of Mutual Defence, and Notwithstanding the most direct Warning of the Fatal Consequences of such a Breach, that a Wise Man, our Agent abroad, could, possibly insinuate; To our Great Reproach, my Lord, Opening a Passage to the Common Disturber of Manking, and, for aught I know, too great a Cause of all the Blood that has been, and may be shed in Christendom from the Ravage, of that Imperious Monarch of France, beside a Subjugation of Us here to Popery and Slavery, or the Inevitable Fury of a Civil War, if, in return of Good for Evil, the Dutch had not Aided our Deliverance from the Influence of all those Pernicious Counsels, and I make no doubt but your Lordship knew then, as well as I do now, that Invention must have been the Guide of your Undertaking, and the Topick, Dimunition of Glory, if you had obeyed their Commands.  
The Tenth Page of the Letter.  
If I have now given your Lordship any Satisfaction, touching my Fair Dealing in my part of that Book, I doubt not but what follows will give you more; when I shall assure you of my having refused to Write a Continuation of the same History, For, my Lord, it was sometime after the Duke of Monmouth 's Overthrow and Execution, that King James the Second required me to Undertake such another Task, and presently set about a Second Part, To that purpose his Majesty gave me a sight of Multitudes of Original Papers and Letters, together with the Confessions of several Persons then taken in England and Scotland, who did seem to Outview one another, who should reveal most, both of Men and Things, relating to the Old Conspiracy, as well as to the Duke of Monmouth 's, and the Earl of Argyle 's Invasion.  
But finding, the Innocence of Divers Persons of Honour and Worth, touched in those Papers, And by that time beginning Vehemently to Suspect Things were Running apace towards the Endangering our Laws and Religion, I must say, I could never be induced by all his Majesty's reiterated Commands to go on with that Work. Instead of that, tho' I had all the Materials for such a Narrative within my Power, for above Three Years, and might Easily have finished it in Six Weeks, yet I chose rather to Suppress, and Silence as much I could, all that New Evidence, which if openly produced would have blemished the Reputation of some Honourable Persons.  
Answer. Blemishes, my Lord, are from the Cause; nor will I ask Pardon to say, 'Tis as necessary to live in the Disesteem of some, as the Good Opinion of Others. The Overthrow of the Duke of Monmouth was in the Name of King, and if what our Neighbours assert to be Law in Scotland, be Reason in England, the late Kings assuming the Regal Power of this Protestant Kingdom being a Papist, was in itself a Forfeiture of his Exercise of the Authority. If the Eyes of the People had been as Open to apprehend it, as his Chapel was Early to declare it, their Hands had been Strong enough to have brought a General to Town, then, Confirming the Bill of Exclusion, And placing the Crown, where it now is. The Generosity of Trust in the English, towards their King at his First Accession to the Throne, overruling their Jealousy, Reasonable from his Conduct of many Years before, but Demonstration of Entire Affection to their Kings, while any Tolerable Bounds, will hold Them, very Honourable in Them, but very much to be Deplored, was the End of that Duke: Rebellion had been a Word in his Attainder, if he had not taken upon him the Title of King, that part of him which Died, had perhaps been less than Execution, and his Defeat, not so much as an Overthrow. King James, my Lord, made good that Cause by the Continuation of his own History to the time of his Departure, and King William and Queen Mary, (whom God for ever preserve) by Consent, and Authority of the Estates have given it Immortality.  
The Old Conspiracy, is not a Language, but in those Times, when Judges deliver for Law, that surprising a Garrison, apart from the King is an Overt Act of Treason to destroy the Person of a King within the Statute of 25 Ed. 3d.  
What greater Invasion can there be, than when Judges shall Force in upon Express Words of Law, and Kill a Man by a Rule of Court. 
6 Ed. 6.  The Statute says, That if any Person, beyond Sea, at the time of an Outlawry for High Treason, surrenders himself within a Year after he shall have leave to Traverse the Indictment upon which the Outlawry is grounded, and be admitted to Trial. What can be inferred from these Words, but if the King will Execute him upon that Outlawry, he must have Patience till the Year Expires, Otherwise, a Fair Trial must be allowed; for who can tell but it may come into his Heart to deliver himself to Justice according to the Forms of that Law, the very last Point of the Year; And are not those Invading Judges, whom the Law Trusts, not only, to be Council for the Prisoner, but directs them to expound all Penal Laws most Beneficially in favour of Life, to send a Subject in Cool Blood, Nay, which is worse, to force the Natural Born Subject of a Free State, out of their own Dominions, send him out of the World upon these Terms, and Sanctify it with the Name of an Execution, this my Lord, is Invasion also, and Conspiracy.  
Or, when the Law is Positive, that Men must be tried in the County where the Facts are Committed, and be Executed in the same County, where they receive Judgement, for the Prerogative Dealers, to gratify the Vain Humour of a King, and Mount a Chief Justice, only to send a Wretch contrary to Law, to be put to Death at the Head of a Regiment, in Terror, forsooth, that the Rest may continue more Unlawfully together, than he Deserted them.  
These are Invasions my Lord, that have been may encountered with that which is no Invasion, but Reprisal of the People's Rights, and Liberties; Such Invasions, as made the Renowned Hales, Foreseeing our Dangers from Colour of Law, say, The Twelve Red-coats in Westminster-Hall, where capable of Doing the Nation more Violence than Twenty Thousand in the Field.  
But, my Lord, if so soon, after that Kings Ascending the Throne, as the Unfortunate Duke of Monmouth's Last Return into England, you began, Vehemently to suspect Things were Running apace towards the Endangering Our Religion and Laws, so that you could not be induced by all his Majesty's reiterated Commands to go on with the Work of History, because you must have Blemished the Reputation, that is, Libelled, the Innocence of some Persons of Honour, One would think, That Vehemence of Suspicion, might have grown into Satisfaction in less than Three Years, and your Lordship have broke loose from the Conspirators long before the Trial of the Bishops.  
The Twelfth page of the Letter.  
Next, my Lord, having mentioned my being concerned in the Commission for the Diocese of London, in that I had the good Fortune to be Joined with an Excellent Person, my Lord Bishop of Peterborough. And we can both truly say, that as we entered into that Commission with my Lord of London 's Good Will, so we acted nothing in it, without the Greatest Respect to his Interest. It is well known we continued all his Officers, in their Full Profits and Privileges of their Places. We faithfully maintained the Rights of his Bishopric, and Once in the Kings own Presence, against his Majesty's Express Inclinations, in a business of no less Concernment than my Lord Mayor 's Chappel: We never invaded any of my Lord Bishop's Preferments that fell Void in that Interval. We disposed of none but according to his own Directions. We used his Clergy with the same Affectionate Care, and Brotherly Love, as He himself had done, who was on that Account as Dear to them, as any Bishop in Christendom was to his Diocese.  
And we Appeal to them, whether we might not rather expect their Kindness, and Thanks, than suspect their Illwill for all our Transactions with them; nor can this be thought a vain Boast to any Man, who shall seriously reflect on the terrible Aspect of Things from Court upon the London Clergy, during the whole time of our Exercising that Jurisdiction. The remembrance whereof makes me not doubt to affirm, That if my Lord Bishop of Peterborough, and I, had not then stood in the Gap, but some other Persons, who were prepared to be thrust in, upon our leaving that Commission, had got it absolutely into their Power: 'tis possible the most Learned and Pious Clergy in the World, had been somewhat otherwise employed than they were; and too much taken up in defending themselves from the violent Persecutions of the Popish Party, to have leisure to Confute, and Triumph over the Popish Cause, as they entirely did in their Admirable Writings, to the Glory and Establishment of the Church of England.  
Answer. I am apt to think, the Bishop of Peterborough had, as far, my Lord of London's goodwill in that Commission, as was possible, for so Faithful a Bishop, to consent, that any, but himself, should execute his Trust; because, from the Character of that Bishop, he might, under the Necessity of his Affairs, hope for Performance, and Good Offices; but your Lordship of Rochester, who sat Illegally in the Grand Commission, and in Favour at Court, have no reason to flatter yourself, but the Appearance of my Lord of London's goodwill toward you, in the matter was, Prevention; And we, to whose Reading you issue out this Manifesto, can take it for no other, than a Continuance of your Regard for that Commission which suspended him. The Jurnal you present us with, of Eine Carriage, etc. during the time of your exercising that Jurisdiction with the Excellent Bishop of Peterborough, has this Melancholy in it too, my Lord, That the Excellencies of my Lord of Peterborough one way, compared, at that time, with your Excellencies another, it may be thought his Excellency carried in the Medium; Nor yet could you have done otherwise, for the most Pious and Learned Clergy in the World must have concluded you quite out of the Protestant Religion, if you had not maintained the Rights of the Bishopric in the inferior Respects you mention; and every Body living beside, would have believed you gone into Utter Darkness, or in very great and Personal Hatred to the Bishop of London, if a Suspension, from which an ordinary submission would discharge him, as you have said, should lay his Lordship so low in your Esteem, Or so Immediate in your Fear of displeasing the Court, as to turn out his Officers, and Abandon him to that Extremity, or render him so Obnoxious, as not to be consulted in the disposal of his Vacant Preferments. Especially, when the Papists did not value what Heretic you put in, so the Game was kept on, till the Managers were ready to Sweep and Distinguish at once.  
But a Thinking Man, my Lord, will sum up all this, and resolve from it, That you sat Knowingly in the Ecclesiastical Commission, because you acted Discreetly in that for the Diocese; and was so Exact in pursuing my Lord of London's desires, because, to gratify the pleasure of the Court, you sat in the First Commission, which was Illegal, and the Act of Suspending my Lord of London, therefore, void; In consequence all the Derivations were so too, and the Commission for the Diocese to my Lord of Peterborough, and yourself, being under the same Fate, All you did, was, perhaps, in strictness, against Law, and not only the more Inexcusable, if you had acted without my Lord's Directions; but Unsafe as to the Actions themselves, if my Lord's Approbation had not warranted them into a Connivance, so that Acting in Commission, for the Diocese of London, was in the Bishop of Peterborough, as Publishing the Suspension was in the Dean of Paul's, an Expedient of Necessity to choose the least of Two Evils; but more Amiss in you, my Lord, because you, who sat in the Ecclesiastical Commission, did it, in confirmation of the great Evil which drew on the necessity of that.  
The terrible Aspect of things from Court upon the London Clergy; your standing in the Gap to hinder some other Persons, prepared to be thrust in, upon your leaving that Commission; and if such Persons had got it Absolutely into their Power, 'tis possible that most learned and Pious Clergy had been somewhat otherwise Employed than they were, and had been too much taken up in defending themselves from the Violent Persecutions of the Popish Party, to have leisure to confute and triumph over the Popish Cause,] can have no other meaning but that if the Papists had got the Diocese of London into their Power, for nothing else can be collected from the word Absolutely with the Terrible Aspect of that Court, which had no other Tendency, 'tis more than Possible, for 'tis Absolutely Certain, that all those of the London Clergy who had Resolution of Adhering to the Protestant Religion, (that is, All those who by a Vigorous, and Ready Allegiance in Defence of the Protestant Religion now, shall justify to all the Protestants at home, and abroad, they would have forsaken their Livings then,) had been Deprived, or otherwise Engaged in too much Persecution by the Popish Party, to have leisure to confute the Popish Cause, and to triumph over Both, as they do now, if they can see their Felicity.  
But your Lordship's standing in the Gap to hinder those Persons, who were prepared to take that Diocese Absolutely into their Power, is not Discernible; On the contrary, Open War being proclaimed between the Two Parties, All those Eminent Supervisors of the Church who continued in Court were so far Endearing the Conspiracy on the Popish Side, as to weaken the Protestant, by going on with the Impracticable Distinction of Protestant Loyalty, against Protestant Religion; while the Papists made it their Business to single out the Flower of our Patriots in Church and State, hunting them down with Renegades, and Masqueraders of our own Faith, to Death, and Obscurity, as well, for their Entertainment, as Interest.  
Fifteenth Page of the Letter.  
I should be glad I could claim as just a share in another of his Lordship's meritorious services to the Public, as I may do in This: But in that, I cannot, for 'tis evident the Seven Bishops, whereof he was One, had such an Opportunity put into their Hands by God's Providence, for the Overthrow of Popery and Arbitrary Power by their sufferings for delivering the sense of King James the Second Declaration, as 'tis likely never any of the Episcopal Order had before, and 'tis to be hoped will never have again.  
This however I will say, I had certainly added myself to their Number, if I had then understood the Question, as well as I did afterwards upon their Trial, where I was present in order to be Witness in their Behalf, at the same time when your Lordship and many other Noble Lords were there to give Countenance to so Good a Cause.  
There it was, my Lord, that I was first convinced of the false Foundations and mischievous Consequences of such a Dispensing Power, as that on which the Declaration was grounded; So that I have ever since been persuaded that from that Petition of the Bishops, so defended by the Invincible Arguments of the Learned Council on that Day, and so justified by the Honest Verdict of the Undaunted Jury on the next day: From thence I say, we may date the first great successful Step that was made towards the Rescuing of our Religion and Laws; For my part I must ever own I was so Fully satisfied by the excellent Plead of those great Lawyers at that Trial, that, I confess, I never had till than so clear a Notion, what unalterable Bounds the Law has fixed between the just Prerogatives of the Crown, and the Legal Rights of the Subjects: and therefore from that very day, I hastened to make all the Reparations I could for the Errors occasioned by my former ignorance, and to act for the future, what I always intended, as became a True Englishman.  
Answer. You are in the right, My Lord, to say, The truth of an Englishman consists in the Reality of his Actions; it gives me notice, at the same time, not to depend upon his Glistering Sentences, nor be deceived by his plausible Apologies. For if any but the Bishop of Rochester himself should tell me, He had added to the number of the Petitioning Bishops, if he had understood the Question; I would answer it with a Smile. The Bishop of Rochester had the same Organs disposing, and Methods of Advice, to inform his Judgement, as the other Bishops had; If, to say no worse, his Courage to Adhere had been the same: and to add these words, As well as I did afterwards upon their Trial, is Ignorance repeated, Ignorance upon Ignorance, to the last Minute.  
The Bishops maintained their Post with Honourable, but not, Unexampled, Constancy, and the Impudence of the Jesuit was no Diminution to the Credit of their Fortitude; The Kingdom stood as Firm to Them, the Warrant of Their Commitment was also, in itself, a Warrant for Correcting that Vagabond, and a Pass for their Religion to Travel. No sooner were their persons in the Tower, but we were ready for the Field, to Extricate them, not only, from the Present difficulties they laboured under, and Convince your Lordship the Protestant Religion, and Interest was no Forsaken Cause, but to Clear them at Once, from the Enemies of their Religion, and the Rivals to their Possessions.  
I hope, their Lordships will prove Firm to Us, and their Bishoprics now, as in a cheerful Allegiance, No longer Puzzling our Enjoyment with Unaccountable Reserves, nor make Us such Cruel Returns as to suffer the Profound Respect we have for Them, to Object against the Security of Ourselves. It is the happiness of the Church of England that her Proselytes are not Slaves, they Reverence their Spiritual Guides, and Honour their Faithful Advisers, the least distance between them is the Torment of their Lives; but they will not be Undone in Blind Dependence, nor yield that the Private Conscience of the Bishop, Or the Less will of the Priest shall be the Uncancellable Obligation upon all their Actions, and the Unalterable Law of their Souls.  
The presence of our Great and Brave Men in, and about the Court of King's Bench at that Trial, seemed a Kind of Parliament met to Defend the Church, and State, Awing the Trembling Mercenaries, (for Honorary, and Judge are lost in the Abuse) upon the Polluted Cushion, even, to Convulsion in Every Joint; But the Invincible Arguments at the Bar, you admire, my Lord, were only so many Gentlemen of the Robe with Brief in Hand, and plain Law in their Mouths, not a Syllable of Conjuration, or The least depth of Mystery, and Charm.  
When the Council for the King, to show the Moderation of the Conspirators, being content with Misdemeanour, could no more resemble the Case to Treason, than the New Council for the People could Jest his Reverend Clients into Fornication, by the Mercury, of a False Step in the Church being Harlotry in Emblem. When the highest Violation of Sacred Promise not to take Public Advantage of what was owned in Private upon that express Condition; With the careful Evidence of that Diligent Clerk of the Council, could not furnish the Undaunted Jury, you magnify, with the least ground of Fact to find a General Verdict against them, nor a Line of Law from the Bench to direct a special one.  
When the Salute upon their Acquittal, was so much the Joy of our Hearts, as to become loud Acclamation, and, if the Voice of the People, be the Voice of God, shook the Battlements of one Hall, Piercing the inner Chambers of another, and putting the Misled King in mind, if not of the Day of Judgement, at least of the Battle of D— And that, if one sort of Protestants, Jealous of their Religion, and Property, from a Match with France, Discontinuance of Parliaments for Thirteen Years together, Imposing Arbitrary Taxes, and Commissions, And lastly, having Occasion for a Parliament, by hoping to suppress a damnable Popish Conspiracy in the power of his Cabinet Council, lest the Parliament should be out of Humour, and Grievances retard Benevolences; If one sort of them, in Fear of Popery Unseen, had strength to hollow his Unhappy Father out of Three Kingdoms: Popery, and Slavery in Full View, must, of Necessity, Unite Protestants of all Persuasions whatsoever, against those Common Enemies, who, by playing Underhand Games, had prevailed upon the Generous Church of England to Disbelieve, and from thence to Hate, and Prosecute the Jealous Dissenter, Managing them, for Generations, to the Tearing one another in Pieces, and Promoting Divisions among themselves, while the Papist wrought up his Design to seize both, if the Great Restorer had not Interposed.  
When the Conspirators run about Whitehall, like Men in a Tempest, and the Priests traversed the Park to St. James', like Ghosts, for Consternation was in all their Looks; and Leyburn, the Titular, crawling to Dinner, bid the Fraternity Retrench, for the Cause was lost. If this be True, my Lord, and an Honest Description of that Cause, without Rhetoric, it follows, That the more successful the Step was to our Rescue, the Plainer I have made it, That Full Satisfaction seized your Lordship in Lightning, and you were struck with the Convincing of Thunder.  
The same Reasons of not hazarding your Preferment, which made you remain in Court, Writing Histories, Acting in Commissions, Suffering the Declaration to be Read in your Diocese of Rochester, Ordering it to be Read in your Deanery of Westminster, and staying to be the Last Man born from the Tables; the very same Reasons, my Lord, of not hazarding your Preferment from the Protestant Quarter obliged you to withdraw from the Popish, in that Critical Day of the Bishop's Trial.  
And the lofty strains of Encomium upon the Bishops, the Great Men of the Kingdom, the Invincible Arguments of the Lawyers, the Undaunted Jury, the strong Fleet, consisting of Twenty Sail and more, (when we were sure of the Seamen from their Irreconcilable Hatred to Popery, and their Constant Fidelity to the Protestant Religion, and Cause) with the Formidable Army, the Honest, and Conscientious part whereof was satisfied their Valour would be their Ruin, Others applying the same Argument to the Tender part of themselves, and most of the new raised Common Shoulders such, as never saw an Enemy, but a Constable, nor set Foot in a Garrison, but a Gaol; In a word, my Lord, your Eloquence upon all Mankind, who, long before, your Lordship, quitted their Temporal Circumstances, and took up the Cross, satisfied, that nothing in this World is an exchange for the Prospect of another, beside the Honour of Avowing Just Principles, are but so many Reflections upon yourself; and (notwithstanding your Airy Notion at the beginning of this Letter, That nothing can be more Grievous in your Thoughts, next to Committing Offences, than Apologies, no Remorse appearing in a Cursory perusal, Yet in the Anatomy much less is to be found, Laying about you, upon any Terms whatsoever, Catching at every thing, from the First Dutch War to the Bishop's Trial, and at every Body that can but carry his Head above Water, and some as likely to drown) in this Glorious, but not so very Miraculous, Revolution, 
Page. 3.  as your Lordship would persuade us to believe, and write Us into for the sake of your Posthumous Conversion.  
All this, my Lord, riseth in a natural Remark upon the very words of your Letter to the rest of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, though Courtier-like written in the Contrary Style. 
Page 21.  And if the great Veneration I entertain for the Bishops of this Protestant Kingdom did not restrain me, Comparing the Advice given by them to King James the Second, and the Abhorrence refused (which make so large a part of your Letter, and so much insisted on,) with the Times of them, when the Prince of Orange had been at the Credit of so many hundred thousand pounds to assist our Deliverance, and ready to Sail, with the Carriage of some of Them hitherto towards him, and the Nation, since he has made it good to us, and we ought to throw ourselves at his Feet, in Duty and Acknowledgement becoming so great an Enterprise; I could say, much more, than that, The Divinity of Kings lies in the Humanity of their Actions: That an Abhorrence, at that time, had been a Backsliding from the Protestant Religion, and an Apostasy from the Understanding, of those Great and Learned Men, That the Advice itself came too late, and the Merit impaired in the Unseasonable, and Extraordinary, Application: Extraordinary, because it is evident from your Letter, It was of your own Seeking; For though the King had sent for You, yet nothing passed but general Expressions of Favour, and Duty between You, and, in Fact, the King had Altered his Mind, and Resolved not to Enter into any Particulars with you, if you had not made it your own Request to Him; 
Page 27, 28, 29, 30.  And so very Unseasonable, that if I had been in the Place of such preliminary Consultation, I should humbly have Offered, That my Lords the Bishops would please to refer his Majesty to his Popish Councils, by which he had for so many Years been conducted, rather than, so late, have thought it any Service to the Protestant Religion, and Interest, voluntarily to inform him, how he might Amuse the People with more vain Promises, Unspirit their Hopes, and Disappoint the Expedition, Leaving Us, a Reproach to our own sense, a Certain Prey to our Mortal Enemies, and the Disdain, if not, the Danger of Christendom.  
And if I had found your Lordship in the Advice who had so often Exercised your Parts for Them before, notwithstanding your Letter to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, should readily have thought It proceeded from your Lordship, as One, rather Willing to Compound for a present Safety, upon Imaginary Conditions, than venture Calling to Account in a Manlike Reformation, which can never be, without some Strokes, and more Marks of Impartial Justice.  

Page 59ᵒ  For, my Lord, tho' Moderation is Healing, yet the Body having been grievously Wounded, and Unable to discharge the Offices of a Political Life, when the Physicians with regard to the Constitution, have taken care to obviate the danger of Fever, or other Distemper, the First Applications are Corrosive; Laying open, and Probing of Wounds, by declaring Crimes, and designing Persons, is necessary; Proud Flesh must be taken off, whether, by Fine, Degradation, or Confiscation, and Gangrene prevented, by Death, Banishment, or other Disability, according to the wisdom of Parliament.  

Page 60.  In the beginning of a Persecution an Honest Man in a Lawful Employment may, with Anxiety, submit to a Rash Action, in hopes to hinder worse: but he must quickly repair, by a Good one, or withdraw, not presuming to go on under Colour to Mitigate the Violence of Times; For his Early Departure may Nip a Conspiracy in the Bud, Stagger the Design, and save a Nation: Whereas, if he Continues among them, the Plot gathers Strength, while his Reputation is a Snare to the Weaker.  

Page 60.  He that remains in a Station of Evil, pretending to keep out a Worse Man than himself, greatly aggravates his Crime, Apology is gone in the very Capacity to Distinguish, for he makes his Judgement Stoop to his will, and Honesty Slave to Ambition; But your Streamer, my Lord, is an Admirable Spark, He that, God help him, was in the middle of the Stream, poor wretch! when the Tide turned so Violently against Our Established Church, and State; No warning: for he never heard of the name of Admiral parted with, rather than take one Test, and a Proviso obtained to secure Passage to the House of Lords in another; but was driven down, by Chance I Know not How, Lower than he expected, The Turn was so Sudden, before he could resist the Current, or get to Shore? otherwise, we had been Sure of him, for all the World Knows his Heart was with Us. That Man has nothing to do, but Apologise for a Stream; He got off, as soon as he Could, thinks to be at rest under an Act of Oblivion, and, it may be, Fifty thousand Pounds, or such a Trifling Sum, from half a Crown, to dry himself with; If that will pass for an Apology, upon my word, my Lord, one Streamer shall Outlive Five hundred Porpoises, and a Stemmer of Tides is a Goose to him.  

Page 61.  It is so far from being well, that so many forsook not the True Interest of the Nation, 'tis a Shame, that so many Did; but when I consider again, that true Protestant was a mark of Reproach, I wonder, we have so many Left. It is happy so many preserved their Integrity, and wretched so many Betra'yd it; That so many Stood Unmoved by the Importunity of their King, whom they were Bred up to Honour, and in all things Else to Obey, and Pity their Honour was not Sooner Consulted in their Obedience.  

Page 61.  In Sense of Humane Frailty many Infirmities are to be Overlooked, but Ignorance is no Common Plea, for Those, who are Known to be Able, nor Chance, and Surprise, where the Province is Care? If it be a great Crime in a Centinel to Sleep at his Post, 'tis Unpardonable to take Opiate, and True, only to Preferment, Stupify all the Rest of his Qualifications.  

Page 61.  False Steps are to be Considered; Heat of Spirit, may carry the Undiscerning Loyalty of Youth out of the way for a while, Or a Dazzle from the Sun may intoxicate him: but Temper is expected in Ripeness of Judgement, and Firmeness of Wisdom from Age.  

Page 61.  It may be thought some kind of Merit; or some Degree of Innocence, not to make more False Steps in a Slippery Ground, that is, Where Arbitrary Dominion has gained the Point, and from general Consent, as to a Conqueror, ready Obedience is Yielded to the Inconstant Motions of Unlimited Power. But when the Prerogative is labouring to break in up-upon the Fences of Known, and Written Laws, he is an Ill Husband that does not Endeavour to transmit that most Sacred part of his Inheritance, the Rights, and Liberties of his Country, to Posterity, Free from Encumbrance, as the Sweat, the Honesty, and the Blood of his Ancestors Secured, and left to him: And if he that Assists the Betraying those Rights, who, with Ignorance, and Chance, Sets up for Innocence, Merit, or Thanks, Imputes all to Slippery Ground, and 'tis well, 'tis no worse, Gentlemen, Take it as you find it, be contented, and mend for the Future; if he be Excusable, with such an Apology, there may be Room for our Enemies to dispute our Deliverances, and Our Friends to question the Just Sense we have of it.  
Compliance looks very well meaning, because All are not Inflexible, and Allowance may be given to Better Understanding: But he that Complies in all Times, and Causes, Or he that Complies with many Bad Causes, Or the many Labours of one Bad Cause, if Great, or Learned, in the Eyes of the People, is a Dangerous Creature; for the Powerful Argument of Private Advantage with such an Example, draws in the Numbers; The First is neither True, nor of Reputation to Any Cause, and the Last makes a Good One Suspicious, unless some Extraordinary Act of Purgation assures him, and much more is required, than Breaking Loose from Ecclesiastical Commissioners at the last Minute, when they were Ready to part by Consent, and the Conspirators behind the Curtain, only directed them, like Generals, to draw up seemingly to Face the whole Body of the Clergy, to secure an Orderly Retreat in the Shape of Adjournment, with no more intent to meet again the Fourth of December, than, they designed to Establish Liberty of Conscience by a Religious Magna Charta, or than, they were so vain as to think, tho' the Dissenters accepted a Liberty of Worship, they would ever consent to Repeal the Tests, or were able to Compass it Effectually for them, if they were so Ill inclined: but, as, I have said in my First, to Amuse Us by Forms of Justice, till they were in a Posture, to follow the Example of the Parliament of Paris, and after disposing of our Principal Nobility, to put all the Rest under Military Reconciliation by the Assistance of France.  
'Tis Pleasant to say, the Constant Experience of all Wise Times has showed, that Civil Dissensions, and Quarrels are best Ended by the Largest Acts of Indemnity: And 'tis as Easy to prove the Contrary, and to show that all wise Governments, from Sparta, down to Rome, the Mistress of the World, were Supported by the Strict Execution of Impartial Justice, That Tyranny took possession of her, at last, and has ever prevailed more, by Flattering the wicked, than strength; That Civil Dissensions will never Extinguish, where there is matter of Faction, while some are too Great, and others too wise for the Laws of their Country— 'Tis a very little while since, in the late King's Reign, Pardons flew about like Wild Fire; and the Act of Oblivion, my Lord, after the Restauration, will show you, that some of All sorts were Excepted.  
Good Nature in England is soon Apt to have Compassion upon the Afflicted, but he that says, scarce any thing can be more Dangerous to the Party that is Uppermost, than to put Englishmen upon pitying those that suffer under it, Articles with a Sword in his Hand, and Threatens while he Desires. Certainly, it can neither become the Honour, nor Consist with the safety of any Revolution, to let such Language pass, where Good Nature is Demanded: And tho' I presume to join in this part of your Advice, my Lord, that the Revolution may be mild in the Event, yet not for the same Reasons of being Bloodless in the whole Course of it, or believing there was much danger of Bloodshed, but Principally, to oblige the Merciful Disposition of the King, whose Goodness recommended the Act, and, then to try, if. Marks of Reproach, with Confusion of Face, may not strike deeper, and more lasting Impressions into the Minds of the People, restraining them from Villainous Attempts for the Future, than Sanguinary Dispatches, the Work of a Minute, Forgot in an Hour.  
Last Pages of the Letter.  
I Will say no more, My Lord, but this, that after great and unexpected Changes, That hath been always found the firmest settlement of any State or Government where the Prevailing Party hath looked but very little backward, and very much forward; where Private Animosity, and Revenge have wisely given way to the greater Benefits of Public Pardon and Indulgence.  
Perhaps, towards the beginning of great Reformations, a warm Impetuous Spirit may have its Use; But to Compose Things after sudden Commotions, to Calm Men's Minds for the Future, to settle Affairs in a secure and Lasting Peace, most Certainly a gentle, generous, charitable Temper is the best.  
Answer. Private Animosity, and Revenge are not to be imagined in the Supreme Assemblies of a Kingdom; My Lord, 'tis a great Oversight, or a higher Vanity to Mention them: The Impetuous Spirit of Reformation, is not English, Unless Affection pass for a Crime; and Indifference a Virtue. To Compose Things after Sudden Commotions, to Calm Men's minds, for the present, a Generous, Good-natured, Charitable Temper is Best, because a Sudden, hotheaded Tumult ought to be Quickly Appeased, and no more thought of; But when Conspiracies have been of long Standing, Obstinate, Carried on against the Laws of a Nation, by Inches, the Growth of Many Years, the Intriegue of Ages to Ripen and Effect, they bear no likeness to Sudden Commotion; Nor can Affairs be Settled in a secure, and Lasting Peace upon any such Revolution, without Deliberate Counsels, Steady Resolutions, and Bold Execution.  
The Firmest Settlement of any State, or Government after Great Changes, is, when the Prevailing Party goes to the Root of the Evil, as well in the Instrument, as the Design. The Surest Method of Composing Things within, and Preventing Temptations to Berray from Abroad, is to let all Mankind see, no Injuries from thence shall pass Unaccounted for, because no Offenders at Home can Escape without Punishment.  
If Ministers of State were brought to Understand, that, according to our Laws, they gave their advice at their Peril, Kings would be well served, and Subjects live Happy: Favourites would not only Examine Themselves, before they Entered upon those Important Trusts, but seriously Consider how to Carry Themselves when Engaged; Nor would they Ever Attempt to accumulate Honours and Fortunes by gratifying the Unreasonable Desire of their Master, if, they were, Once, well Satisfied beyond words, That the Powers of the Prince were not Strong enough to protect Them, while they live, nor Death itself to secure the Plunder to their Posterity.  
Thus, my Lord, you see, according to the Premise of my First, I am no Dealer in the Art of Language, Nor Accuser, I do assure your Lordship, but a plain, Ordinary Man, a Reverencer of Public Honesty, Impartial Justice and Naked Truth. The Dearest Friend I have, cannot charge me with an Approach to Flattery, nor my greatest Enemy, Justly yet, with any Act of Private Animosity, or Revenge: Love for my Country raises me to Warmth, but no Impetuous Spirit.  
When I find a Man Acting against her Interest before, Forward, in Advising her, out of his Station, now, I cannot help being Jealous and Satisfied, in my own Breast, the Notions laid down are Disagreeable to her Safety in General, however they may be taken for granted with reference to his Particular, am so much an Englishman, as not to let them pass for Unanswerable Maxims and Standing Rules, without Opposition, of which the World is to Judge between Us.  
Persons are not my Courtship, but Things my Industry, I Honour the Great, pay Respect to the Deserving, and Share with the Really Afflicted; But, he that lays hold of Ignorance in so many Remarkable Transactions of his Life can be no sure Adviser; Nor, in my Humble Opinion ought your Lordship to have Pleaded so Liberally, for all the Criminals in the Kingdom, Unless you thought yourself the last Man upon Earth to be Forgiven.  
My Lord, Your Lordship's most Humble Servant. May the 25th. 1689.  
FINIS.