A DEFENCE OF King Charles I. Occasioned by the LIES & SCANDALS OF Many BAD MEN of this AGE.  
By Richard Hollingworth, D. D. Their Majesty's Chaplain, at St. Botolph Aldgate, London.  
LONDON: Printed for Samuel Eddowes, under the Piazza of the Royal Exchange in Cornhill, 1692.   

TO THE KING & QUEENS Most Excellent Majesties.  
May it please Your Majesties,  
THE Subject of this Discourse being no less a Person than King Charles I. of Blessed Memory, and Your Royal Grandfather, whose Throne You so happily fill, and whose Virtues and Graces You daily imitate; I therefore thought the Dedication of it proper for none but Crowned Heads, upon which score I humbly presume, such as it is, to lay it at Your Sacred Feet, hoping that it may be serviceable to support the Honour and Reputation of Monarchy in general, (which, I am certain, is struck at through the Sides of this Great Prince) to preserve the Peace and Happiness of Your Majesty's Government, and to secure Your Majesties from the Danger, as well of flattering and pretending Friends, as of public and open Enemies: Which good effect that it may have, shall be the constant Prayer of  
Your Majesty's most humble and dutiful Subject and Servant, Ric. Hollingworth.   

TO THE READER.  
Reader,  
IF those, who have of late made it their Business to Defame King Charles the First, will, after this, repent and do so no more, than I promise, this Discourse, as it is my first, so it shall be the last I will put forth of this nature. But if they are resolved against Conviction, and will act against Noon-day-light, and will continue to load this Great and Good man's Memory still with their wont Calumnies and Reproaches; I do here tell them, that I have so much more to say in his behalf, which I could not crowd into these Papers, (because I was willing it should be every man's Money) that, if it be possible, will put them to a shame. And I do here assure them, if they will not suffer Modesty and Good-manners to command them for the time to come, they shall have it; for, I am resolved, as long as I can hold a Pen in my Hand, I will not drop this Cause, namely, The Defence of Charles the First. I have but one thing more, and that is, That I cannot believe that man loves me, let his Professions be never so great and many, nay, but that he has a Spite to and Design against me, who in all Companies and Places, without Cause or Provocation, calls my Grandfather Knave and Rascal.  
Farewell.   

A DEFENCE OF King CHARLES the First, &  
KING Charles the First was a person whose Life I have diligently looked into, and as seriously considered, and in doing both, have found myself equally affected with Joy and Grief; with Joy, to meet with a person, under so great and many Temptations as Princes must needs be, so admirably tempered, so greatly condescending, so ready to comply with whatever was presented to him for the Good of his Subjects, of so great Patience under the greatest Sufferings and the most horrid Indignities put upon him, of so great Constancy to the Religious Persuasions of his own Mind, that neither the enjoyment of his Crown, nor yet his Life, could bribe him to forsake them.  
Further, to meet with a Prince of so affable a Conversation, and that attended with such pithy and admirable Discourses, as made some of those who were his Keepers at Holdenly-House, not only love, but admire him ever after; so that they not only wished, endeavoured to put him in a better condition. Lastly, A Prince of so solid a Judgement, as all his Writings and Disputes do testify, and also so serious and awful, as well as constant in his Devotions; I say, when I meet with these true Accounts in History, I cannot forbear praising God with the greatest joy, that there was such a person of his Degree, and in his High station, that was born into, and lived in the World to be a Pattern to future Princes, as well as to all other sort of Persons, of true Virtue and real Goodness.  
But, on the other hand, I have been often overwhelmed, as it were, with Sorrow and a loading Grief, to find this Prince, so every ways Great and Good, so rudely handled, so barbarously used, so ignobly and ungenerously refused not only the Liberty of his Body, but the free exercise of his Religion in that way which he had so often and also so solemnly declared to be according to the just and well-made satisfaction of his Mind and Judgement; to find him libelled by every petty and saucy Scribbler, and those Libels countenanced, and also spread abroad by a Factious number of Men, who designed nothing, but by his Ruin to raise themselves into Places of Wealth and Power. I say, when I meet with these, and a thousand more Affronts put upon him, enough to have broke any Heart but his, I cannot but entertain myself with sorrowful Thoughts, nor yet forbear such Resentments as almost force me to break out into undecent Passions and violent Reflections upon those men, who once swore Allegiance to him, and afterwards, forgetting all their Obligations, treated him as one of their Slaves or Footboys. But however, it would be some allay to a man's Grief, if he could find the present Generation of this Kingdom, especially many of those whose Ancestors had too great an hand in these vile and scornful Treatments of this Great and Excellent Person, to make an atonement for the Faults of their Progenitors, by bewailing of them, and by a constant forwardness to give this Good man that just and true Character that his Worth and Merits do call for at all honest and considering men's hands: But, alas! when I find at this time of the day, instead of this, these very men, who succeed in Principles those who imprisoned and at last murdered him; I say, when I find so great numbers of them vindicating his Death, and in order to that, loading his Memory with all the filthy Accusations and groundless, as well as false, Aspersions, that Wit and Malice put together, can amass and heap up, never speaking of him, but as a Tyrant, a Rogue, a Rascal, nay, and a Papist too, though he so strenuously asserted and pleaded the Protestant Cause, as it is professed by the Church of England, and calling the day on which he was murdered, and which is appointed by the Supreme Power of the Nation to be religiously observed, The Madding Day, as it is in a late lewd Pamphlet, that goes under the name of Ludlow: Why, I must needs say, this swells my Grief above its usual Bank, as well as stirs and raises my just Indignation against such a vile Brood, who, under pretence of Duty, and entire Affections to Their present Majesties, (believe them who will or can) are daily abusing him from whose Loins they came, and whose Virtues they daily imitate.  
And therefore, from these two Passions of Grief and Anger, thus justly grounded, I am resolved, in the ensuing Treatise, to vindicate this great Prince, and if possible, to shame his implacable Enemies, who do show by what they so frequently vent, that they have neither Knowledge, Wisdom, nor Good-Manners, nor indeed any thing else that belongs to the Human as well as Christian Nature; the influency of either of which, if suffered, would make them tender of the Reputation and Memory of one, whose Virtues and Graces were as conspicuous as were the Perfidiousness and Treachery, the Hypocrisy and Perjury of those who embrued their Hands in his Sacred Blood.  
And here I must tell the Reader, that I intent only to run through the last Eight years of his Reign; for tho' there might be some mistakes in his Government before, (as, What Government is without them?) yet now he offers to redress all, and did so as far as he could be satisfied things were out of order; and, I am certain, from the beginning of the Long Parliament, November the 4th. to the day of his death, January 48. that he did every thing almost that deserved a better reception than it met withal, and made such various Offers and Condescensions, as would have pleased any sort of men, but those who were resolved to be Masters of his whole Crown and Dignity, together with his Revenues, and the Estates of all those who from Principles of Conscience, stood by and asserted his just and righteous Cause. And in this Undertaking I promise the Reader to be true and impartial, and to offer nothing but what I have a good and truly-acknowledged Authority for; for I scorn to set Pen to Paper, with a disign to cheat and impose upon the World, which when I have done, I fear not the Reflections of any prejudiced, resolved, and unreasonable men whatsoever.  
When the Parliament sat down in 40. it is plain to any man that reads the History with a clear and equal mind, That the King purposed and resolved to consent to every thing they could offer him, which might be really for the Good of his Kingdom; and that if any Grievance was left unredressed, it should not be his, but their own fault, only supposing they would not make Grievances where there were none, and overturn the Government instead of healing the Sores thereof. And therefore, in his first Speech, he tells them frankly, That he was resolved to put himself freely and clearly on the Love and Affection of his English Subjects; and withal, promises them at the same time to concur with them so hearty, that all the World may see, that his Intentions have ever been, and shall be, to make this a glorious and flourishing Kingdom. And, I think, he that reads the first half-years Transactions betwixt him and this Parliament, will find he made his word good to a tittle; for whatsoever they offered to him by way of Bill, which the Nation groaned under before, as a real, nay, but as a fancied Burden, he presently passes it. As for instance; The Star-Chamber had been long complained of as a Grievance, and therefore he signs the Bill to take it away. Further, the High-Commission was a Court that most men's Mouths were opened against, tho' it was well designed, when in Queen Elizabeth's days it was first erected; and he consents to take that away too. The Ship-Money, tho' great and very learned Lawyers had given their Opinion, That the exacting of it in some cases was according to Law; yet he resolving to set all right at once, betwixt himself and many of his discontented People, he gives that up also, and withal, consents, that the late Proceed touching Ship-Money should be declared void. And, to please the Western. Gentlemen, and many others of inferior rank, he passes an Act against the Encroachments and Oppressions of the Stannery Courts. And, to please others throughout the Nation, as well as them, he signs another Bill, relating to the Metes and Bounds of the Forest; and all these things done in a very short time. And after this, to let his People see, that all Dangers from Bad men's wicked Counsels, for the time to come, should be prevented, he signs a Bill for a Triennial Parliament, wherein, upon a Neglect at Court, or from the better sort of men in the Country, to summon a Choice, he puts it into the power of the very. Constables to do it; namely, to meet and chufe Representives: Which, certainly; was as great a Condescension as was ever made by a Prince, and would have satisfied any but those who were resolved to carry a Game further than was at that time seen by men of clean and undesigning Minds.  
And after this, when they thought things would never be well, until all sorts of Subjects were conversant in nothing else, but what was proper for their Calling, and therefore fancied, that if the Bishops were removed out of the House of Lords, they would have more leisure to attend their Spiritual Empl●…ments; why even this Bill, together with that which offered violence to the Peace and Quiet of his Mind all the days of his Life, namely, the Bill for attainding the great Earl of Strafford, he order by Commissioners to be pa●…sed. And, what can any man think, after this, could give occasion for Discontent or finding Fault. If any thing could persuade men, that the King was resolved nor to break with his People, but to lay a firm Foundation of Duty on their sides for the time to come, certainly a man would think this would do; though, God knows, by the sequel we find it did not, but the more he gave, the bolder they grew in their Requests, or rather in their Demands; and therefore, the next thing they presented him withal, which was a thing, I verily believe, never a Prince that had sat upon the English Throne before, would have granted; Granted did I say? nay, would scornfully have rejected: Yet to show he was resolved to honour them with an entire Confidence, he passes that too, and with it not only all the future Comforts, of his Life, but his Life too, and that was the Bill for the Parliament to sit during their pleasure: Such an Act of Kindness, as one would have thought, should have obliged them for ever, and shut the door against all Suspicions of him. Great and Good man hadst thou had any jealousy of this People's Kindness and Duty to thee, thou wouldst have suffered thy Hand rather to have withered off, than by it to have signed a Bill whereby thou losest almost all thy Power at one blow.  
And now surely all Clouds are blown away, and the Sky looks clear, and there is a mutual Harmony, and an undisturbed Intercourse betwixt him and his People, especially considering that he is so far from repenting of what he has done, that he is still continuing to invite them, both by Speeches and Messages, to propose any thing to him that might make them both happy, (provided they did not invade the Essentials of an English Monarch, and strip him of every thing but the Name of a King) with all manner of assurance, that he would comply with them; as any man may satisfy himself, that converses with the History and Transactions of those times.  
But, alas, all these Condescensions would not do; and tho' he, good man, flattered himself with an easy Belief, that he had done what was fitting for a gracious King to do, in order to still the voice of further Complaints, yet for all that, when for necessary reasons he took a Journey to Scotland, these men, whose Requests he had thus largely answered, in his absence to show their gratitude for what was done before, appoint a Committee, who being picked and chosen men, drew up a Remonstrance, wherein they made the most bitter Reflections upon his former Government, and exposed him to the censure and ill thoughts of his less-discerning Subjects, and which was so very unmannerly, as well as false, that when it came to be delated in the whole House, after sitting up all night, and thereby wearying many of the ancient Gentlemen, and being protested-against by many learned and worthy Patriots in the House, and carried only by eleven Votes, yet it was ordered to be printed, on purpose to inflame the Nation against him. Notwithstanding which affront to his Person and Government, (after he had fairly answered it, and vindicated himself from those horrid Aspersions wherewith they had loaded him, fairly proving, that the present Miseries and future Dangers of the Nation lay at their door, and not at his.) I say, notwithstanding this, he continues still to solicit them, by Message after Message, to offer any thing to him wherein the true Interest of the Kingdom was concerned, and he would be ready to gratify them, by giving it the Royal Fiat.  
And when through Tumults and too-much-countenanced Riots he withdrew from Whitehall, being under apprehension of Affronts designed to be offered to his Person, if not something worse, yet he ceases not to call upon them, to consider the Nations Good, and the settling it upon such Foundations as neither the Monarch might invade the just Rights of the People, nor the People encroach upon the Rights of his Crown and Dignity: And so he tells them upon their presenting their Petition at Theobalds', and afterwards at New-market, in the same month, when after hearing their Declaration read, he expostulated in these words: What would you have? Have I violated your Laws? Have I denied to pass any one Bill for the Ease and Security of my Subjects? God so deal with me and mine, as all my Thoughts and Intentions are upright, for the maintenance of the true Protestant Profession, and for the Observation and Preservation of the Laws of this Land. Expressions surely that do not in the least savour of that Tyranny and Oppression with which, at this time, by many wicked persons, his Memory is charged. 'Tis true, these Applications from the two Houses, at this time, were for nothing less than the Militia; but, Can any man accuse him for a Tyrant, because he would not part with that which his Ancestors always enjoyed, and without which a King is indeed but the shadow of a King; especially not to part with it at that time, when so little a Regard had been paid to his Person, nay, so many Indignities had not only been promoted but encouraged too by those very men, whom nothing now could satisfy, but the whole Power of the Sword?  
Well, the King continuing steadfast to his Resolutions, and deaf to all their Importunities, telling them, he would not part with his Militia for an hour; which any wise man, that considered the present posture of Affairs, would judge he had great reason to do, the Parliament falls into great Passions and Resentments, and resolve to be as stiff on the other side, and not to abate him an Ace of their Demands; and so intent are they upon this very thing, that though the King sent to them to digest into one body all the Grievances of the Kingdom, and to send them to him, promising his favourable Assent to those Means which should be found most effectual for Redress, wherein, as he says, he would not only equal, but exceed the most Indulgent Prince; (words which do not use to drop from the Mouth of a Tyrant, as he is falsely called by some at this day.) Yet all this was nothing, the Militia they must have, or the Nation is undone, and rather than fail, they will take it into their Hands by force: And so they did, after they had sent the King a downright Message, That if his Majesty did not agree with the two Houses, to settle the Militia, that then, for his and the Kingdom's safety, they shall be constrained of themselves, without His Majesty, to settle the necessary business of the Militia. And they were as good as their words; seize it they did, in spite of all the King could say or proclaim to the contrary.  
But, before the War actually broke out, the King was gone to York, and made it the place of his Royal Residence, hoping thereby to cool the Heats that were at London, and in some little time to be invited thither, to live with more Honour and Safety than he did before. Now, while the King stayed at York, what Protestations he made to the Gentlemen and Citizens of that that County and City, what Assurances he gave them of his Resolutions to govern by Law, and no otherwise, and of his protecting and countenancing the Protestant Religion, may be easily known by any man, who will but look over the faithful Historians of those Times.  
The same Assurances he gave to the Inhabitants of Lincolnshire and Leicester-shire; and when he was forced to raise an Army, which was after the Parliament had voted the Necessity of a War with him, and after they had seized his Militia as far as they could; why, to let the World then see what he aimed at, he does assure the Gentlemen, whose Loyalty engaged them early on his side, Sept. 19.42. and does promise them in the presence of Almighty God, and as he hopes for his Blessing and Protection, that he would, to the utmost of his Power, defend and maintain the true Protestant Religion established in the Church of England, and, by the Grace of God, in the same he would live and die. The Truth is, to repeat all that he said of this nature, in several Counties, and to several Parties, would be endless, and not at all suit with my disigned Brevity.  
And now we come to another Scene of Action, and, God knows, a very melancholy one: For, through the High and Imperious Demands of the Parliament, to which the King could no ways, without stripping himself of every thing but the Name of a King, the Sword, the Unhappy Sword is drawn, and the poor Kingdom instead of being an Island of Peace and Plenty, is made a Field of Blood, and the Father appears against the Son, and the Son against the Father; our Ploughshares are turned into Spears, and our Pruning-hooks into Instruments of Hostility: And methinks it should grieve both King and Parliament, the one to see and hear of the Destruction of his own Children, as I may justly call them, and the other to hear so frequent Tidings, not only of the loss of their Fellow-Subjects Lives, but also of the ruin of their Lands and Houses. Do not they both strive which should most court each other to Peace? And do not they abate of their former Demands, as well as stiff Adherencies? Methinks the Cries and Losses of the poor innocent Inhabitants of the Kingdom should pierce their Ears, and melt their Hearts, and make them forget all their former Passions and Resentments. Why truly, to give the two Houses their due, they did at this time send Proposals, as if they had been truly assected with the Nations Miseries; but, in the mean time, (I am sorry I can say no otherwife) they were such Proposals as they could, upon all reasonable and fair Considerations and Debates with themselves, expect no good Success of, because they could not but know beforehand they would be denied, insomuch, as the King had told them again and again, where he would stop, and how far he would go, especially as to Church-Affairs. Nothing less in these Proposals would satisfy them, than the abolishing, by Act of Parliament, the whole Hierarchy, to which he was sworn by his Coronation-Oath, settling the Militia as they pleased themselves, the King's disbanding his Army (made up of the best Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom) and withal, which was a greater Assront to Majesty than could be supposed to them, in coming to demand the five Members: He must be obliged as it were, and in effect, to beg those Members Pardon for wronging them, with what he thought and could by good Evidence prove Matter of Truth; Which certainly was but to seem to desire Peace, and at the same time to resolve to continue the War.  
But now the next thing to be considered is, after these Proposals, how the King manages himself, and what steps he makes towards a Peace; and truly, I think, according to my poor Judgement, he now acts according to what he always pretended and solemnly avowed, to wit, as a true Father of his Country; for he proposes, That his Revenue, Magazines, Towns, Ships, and Forts, may be restored to him; that what hath been done contrary to Law and his Right, may be recalled; and that he will consent to the execution of all Laws concerning Popery or Reformation: Nay, he further tells them, That he had given up all the Faculties of his Soul to an earnest endeavonr of a Peace and Reconciliation with his Subjects. So that to me hitherto the Fault lies not at His Majesty's door, say the Enemies to his Memory what they please; for, let them but abate of the rigour of their Demands, and not ask him things wholly inconsistent with his Honour and Conscience, with his Crown and Dignity, and the issue of Blood is stopped presently, and the Nation restored to its former state of Peace; for still he stands ready, and prossers again and again, to sign any Bill that, in his own, and the Judgement of many Wise and Good men about him, who were true lovers of their Countries Licerties and Properties, was necessary for making the Nation more happy in its Privileges than it had been in all Ages before. And truly, it so, I see no Cause for continuing a Destructive War in the Bowels of the Kingdom, nor for standing upon their Points at that rigid rate they did, especially when so many of their Brethren and fellow-Members of both Houses, upon great dissatissaction at their Proceed had left their station, and took in, out of Principles of Loyalty and Duty, with their Master's Cause, venturing both their Lives, Families, and Estates upon it, which no man can believe wise men would have done, if they had not seen great Reason to question the Integrity of the prevailing part of the Parliament: So that hitherto there appears no just Reason for those many scandalous Reflections, that in Coffeehouses and other places of public Intercourse or private Communication, are made upon this great and excellent man. And thus ended the year 42, all the King's Proposals and Condescensions being neglected and slighted.  
The year 43. gins with a Treaty for Peace, at Oxford, Commissioners for the Parliament being, the Lord Northumberland, the Lord Wenmain, Mr. Peirepoint, Mr. Hollis, etc. who were civilly treated, both by the King himself and many of his great Officers; which Treaty was managed not by Commissioners on the King's side, but by himself.  
And truly, he that reads it over, must needs confess, that His Majesty deserved the Commendation Mr. Whitlock, who was one of them, in his Memorials gives of him, to wit, That in this Treaty the King manifested his great Parts and Ability, strength of Reason, and quickness of Apprehension, with much patience in hearing what was objected against him, wherein he allowed all Freedom, and would himself sum up the Arguments, and give a most clear Judgement upon them. This is Mr. Whitlock's Character. And, to let all the World see his readiness to do every thing which might reasonably answer the Kingdom's Expectation, and make it happy, he tells these Commissioners, That he hath nor denied any one thing, proposed to him by both Houses, which in Justice could be required of him, or in reason expected: And the Truth of it is, had not their Demands been so very high in this, as well as in other Treaties, (which, a man must think, were made on purpose, by the prevalence of a designing self-interested Party, to continue the War) I am certain Peace had ensued upon this Treaty; for, the King still, like a tender Father, groaned under the Oppressions of his Honour and Conscience were not concerned, in order to put an end to that desolating War: And therefore, that this Treaty had no better effect, was not the King's fault, but of those that bond up their Commissioners to such narrow limits, that His Majesty, without doing Injustice to the Essentials of Regality, could not comply with the Proposals that were offered: And this he complains of himself, That they bond up their Committee in that manner, as to Time and Power, as might wholly render it ineffectual.  
'Tis true, after the Commissioners returned home, the Lords and Commons put out a Declaration upon the Proceed of this Treaty, which I shall no ways reflect upon, but only tell the World, the King presently put out an Answer to it, which whosoever will be pleased to read, will find His Majesty the same person still, a man of true Honour and Conscience, and ready to serve all the Needs and Conveniencies of his Country, and no ways deserving those Reflections which were made by his Subjects at that time, to render him odious to his People; and I do desire the present Maligners of this Great Person to read over his Declaration in answer to the Parliaments, and then tell me whether he designed any Tyrannical and Arbitrary Power, and was guilty of the Stubborness that he is falsely accused of by Designers against Monarchy at this time: for, hearing nothing for a Month together, by way of Message, after he had parted with the Commissioners, he, Good man, in order to a Compliance, sends another Message to them, and in it requires, as they will answer to God, to him, and all the World, that they will not longer suffer their fellow-Subjects to welter in each others Blood; that they will remember by whose Authority, and to what end they met in that Council, and send such an Answer to His Majesty, as may open a Door, to let in a firm Peace and Security to the whole Kingdom. And after this, that, if possible, a stop might be put to this Bloodshed in the Bowels of his Kingdom, he sends another Message for another Treaty, wherein he promises them, after he had expressed a becoming Pity for the Miseries of the Nation, that no Endeavours or Concurrence of his shall be wanting; and that he might give infallible Proof, that those Desires of his were not feigned and pretended, but real and hearty, after his defeat of Waller at Croptedy-Bridge, he even then, by a Message, courts the Lords and Commons to a Peace, and tells them in these words; That from an earnest and constant endeavouring of Peace, as no discouragement given him on the contrary Party shall make him cease, so no Success on his shall ever divert him. Words spoke like a man of true Bowels and Affection to his People. And after this, from Travestock, when he had defeated the Earl of Essex in Cornwall, and made so advantageous a Conquest, yet so far is he from being puffed up with that Success, so far from showing any inclination to enlarge his Power, above what was for his Subjects good, that he even then, in the midst of his Laurels and Triumphs, sends to the two Houses, and tells them. It having pleased God in so eminent a manner to bless his Arms in those parts with Success, yet he did not so much joy in the Blessing for any other Consideration, as for the hopes he had, that it might be a means to make others lay to Heart, as he did, the Miseries brought and continued upon the Kingdom by this unnatural War, and that it may open their Ears, and dispose their Minds to embrace Offers of Peace and Reconciliation. Which Message, after so great a Success, certainly argued not the Spirit of a Tyrant, as our present Commonwealths-men call him, but the Compassion of a tender Father, whose Bowels yearned for the Miseries his Kingdom laboured under, especially if we add what he a little after said in a public Proclamation, where, after he had complained of receiving no Answer to the two former importunate Messages, he tells the World he desired a Treaty for Peace, in which he does assure all his People, upon his Royal Word, and the Faith of a Christian, which was the greatest Security he could give them, that he would insist only upon the Settling and Continuation of the true Reformed Protestant Religion, his own undoubted Rights, the Privileges of Parliament, and his Subjects Liberties and Properties, according to the known Laws of the Land. And what besides this was truly necessary for the People's Happiness truly I cannot divine.  
And thus far things went, and these Condescensions the King made, when his Affairs were very prosperous, and the Scale seemed to be turned on his side, which, I think, was an Argument of Sincerity on his side; and will take off all Objections made against his future Offerings for Peace; as if bare Necessity drove him, when Success fell upon the Parliaments Forces.  
The two Houses therefore, at this melancholy juncture, apprehending themselves in danger, and fearing a severe account hereafter, wanting, as they thought, Forces in England to stem the Tide, which was coming in so furiously upon them; they therefore send Commissioners into Scotland, to invite the Subjects of that Nation to come in to their assistance, and rather than fail, notwithstanding all their Protestations and Votes formerly not to alter the Essentials of the Church-Government, whereby they swore to dissolve the Frame of the Church, as it had been by Law established ever since the first excellent Reformation, notwithstanding they knew it was not in their Power, according to the known Laws of the Kingdom, without the King's Consent: And take it they did, and by that means procured Twenty thousand of their Brethren, as they called them, to invade England, against the King's Proclamation to the contrary, by virtue of which Act, I mean taking the Covenant, they shut up all the Doors against Peace; for, they knew at the same time the King was resolved, and had often so declared against altering the Government by Bishops, as a thing which was directly contrary to the satisfaction of his Conscience, and which he could no more recede from than from his Life itself. And therefore, from this, I cannot but persuade myself, they were resolved to continue the War, and engross all into their own hands, let what would become of the King, or those Noble Persons that took in with and adhered to his Just and Righteous Cause.  
But yet, that they might pacify the Minds of a great number of the Nation, who groaned under the Miseries of the War, and began to see too much of a private Spirit under public Pretences; they afterwards, in some precess of time, consent to a Treaty, and Uxbridge was the place pitched upon for it, to which place the King agreed, and accordingly sent Commissioners, men of Honour and Honesty, men of Fortunes and Estates, men of great Parts and Endowments, who understood the business they went about, and were very fond of healing the Nations Breaches, and putting things into such a posture as might settle the King upon his just Rights, and the People upon their ancient Privileges, together with the addition of more such as were necessary for that Time and Season. And with what Temper they managed the whole Conference, what Offers in the King's Name and by his Authority they made, such as our Ancestors never enjoyed, nor indeed ever thought necessary to ask, let any man judge of, by reading the Conference itself.  
It would swell this Book into too great a bulk, to run through the whole; and I shall therefore give the Reader a taste, by which he may guests at all the rest.  

1. As to Church-Affairs, they offered, That Freedom be left to all persons, of what Opinion soever, in Matters of Ceremony; and that all the Penalties of the Law and Custom which enjoin these Ceremonies, be suspended.  
2. That the Bishops shall exercise no Act of Jurisdiction or Ordination, without the Consent and Counsel of the Presbyters, who shall be chosen by the Clergy of each. Diocese, out of the gravest and most learned of the Diocese.  
3. That the Bishop keep his constant Residence in his Diocese, except when he shall be required by His Majesty to attend him on any occasion; and that if he be not hindered by the Infirmities of Old-Age, or Sickness, he preach every Sunday in some Church within his Diocese.  
4. That the Ordination of Ministers shall be always in a public and solemn manner, and strict Rules observed concerning the Sufficiency and other Qualifications of those men who shall be received into Holy Orders; and the Bishop shall not receive any into Holy Orders without the Approbation and Consent of the Presbyters, or the major part of them.  
5. That competent Maintenance and Provisions be established by Act of Parliament to such Vicarages as belong to Bishops. Deans, and Chapters, out of the Impropritions of the several Parishes.  
6. That no man, for the time to come, shall be capable of two Parsonages or Vicarages, with Cure of Souls; and likewise, that one or more Acts of Parliament be passed for regulating Visitations, and against immoderate Fees in Ecclesiastical Courts.   
And that they might be might be wanting in nothing, if any thing could satisfy, they declare in the close, That if their Lordships shall insist upon any other thing which they shall think necessary for Reformation, they were very willing to apply themselves to the consideration thereof.  
And now let me ask any man, whether these men acted like the Tools and Instruments of a Tyrant, of one who was resolved to set up his own Will in opposition to the Nations Good or Contentment? But yet all this was nothing, the state of things is changed from what it was when they made their Protestation; now no Peace, no Reconciliation without the King's taking the Covenant. and thereby perjuring himself, and signing an Act for others to be perjured as well as himself, or else wholly to be laid aside, as useless and unprofitable Members of the Body-Politick, and to be wholly uncapable of any Place of Trust or Profit either in Church or State. And here I now appeal to all impartial and unprejudiced Readers, who were in fault, and who stood betwixt the Kingdom and a Complete Happiness, and what reason there was to continue such a bloody and unnatural War. when a Peace was offered, and might have been concluded upon such fair and agreeable Terms as these were: And they therefore that at this time censure and reproach the Memory of King Charles the First, must be men either of Resolved Prejudices, or else of Profound and Stupid Ignorance, who never gave themselves Leave to read his Story, and thereby to be acquainted with true Matter of Fact. The Truth is, had such things been granted as to Church-Affairs, when King Charles the Second was restored, I am sure those men who at this Treaty scornfully refused these Offers, would have thought themselves happy in the enjoyment of them, and have blessed God for such healing Abatements and Condescensions; but God's Justice reckoned with many of these men in 62, for their Cruelty to the Episcopal Clergy in 43.  
The other great thing that came under debate at that time, was the Militia, and what Moderation the King's Commissioners shown, and what fair Offers they made, let any man read the Conference, and then judge. In short, they consented, That the Militia, for three years, should be in the Hands of Twenty Commissioners, the one half by the two Houses, which certainly considering the King's Right to it, and his Ancestors having always enjoyed the whole Power of disposing of it, was a very great Condescension on the King's part: But, alas! it was nothing; the Instructions on the other side were to have all or none, and here they broke; and certainly, any Prince, or any Noble Person deputed by him, as these were, would have broke with any Enemy, rather than to have submitted to such slavish terms as these were: For, as the Commissioners told those that appeared in the Parliaments behalf, that upon these Terms His Majesty, for himself and his Posterity too, would have parted with their peculiar Regal Power of being able to resist their Enemies, or protect their good Subjects, and with the undoubted and never-denyed Right of the Crown, to make War and Peace.  
He that reads over the whole Conference, will find, it was managed on the King's Commissioners side, in all other things with the same Spirit, and the same great Abatements of the Royal Power; so that if there had been any real Inclination to Peace on the other side, a Blessed and Happy Peace would have ensued, and the future Miseries and Desolations of the War had been prevented; but God did not see it good, neither was the Nation worthy of such a Blessing at that time, her Sins cried aloud for further Vengeance, and she had it in very great proportions.  
Well, after this, by the assistance of the Scots, and the new-modelling of the Army, the Parliaments Arms prosper at a great rate, and the King's Affairs consequently went backward: But however, His Majesty, upon all promising Opportunities, or at least, to gratify the Tenderness of his Bowels towards a distracted and oppressed People, left not off to show his Zeal for Peace that his poor Subjects might not live in those continual Fears and Dangers they were in; and therefore he sends from Oxford, and tells them how deeply-sensible he was of the Continuation of this bloody and unnatural War, and that he cannot think himself discharged of the Duty he owes to God, or the Affection and Regard he hath to the Preservation of his People, without the constant application of his earnest Endeavours, to find some Expedient for the speedy ending of these unhappy Distractions. Which Message, when neglected and not answered, His Majesty, Good man; ten days after, send another to them, extremely wondering that they, after so many Expressions on their part, of a deep and seeming sense of the Miseries of the Afflicted Kingdom, and the Dangers incident to his Person during the continuance of this unnatural War, should delay a safe Conduct to the persons mentioned in the last Message, who were to treat of Peace. And again, this Message being slighted, within a few days after, he follows them with another, and tells them, Notwithstanding the strange and unexpected Delays (which can be Presidented by no former Times) to his former Message, therefore he will lay aside all Expostulations, as rather serving to time, than to contribute any Remedy to the Evils, which for the present do afflict this distracted Kingdom: And therefore he offers to put things into such a posture, as certainly, if they had designed an End of the Nations Confusions, would have terminated in an happy and settled Peace: But this taking no effect, he presently, in a few days, sends another Message, with such solemn and religious Professions of his Desire for composing the present Differences betwixt them, that truly, he that reads them, must upon necessity (unless he be all Will and Prejudice) conclude, that this Great King is very wrongfully blamed, and barbarously used, when he is called by such Names as very many of this Nation, out of great Good manners, and also prosound Respect to his Royal Grandchilds now happily in the Throne, think good to abuse him withal.  
Now, after all this, the very month following, tho' he tells them, he needs make no Excuse, if he sends no more Messages to them, because he knew very well, he ought not to do it, if he stood upon Punctilios of Honour; yet nothing being equally dear to him, to the preservation of his People, His Majesty passes by many Scruples, Delays, and Neglects, and once more desires them to give him a speedy Answer to his last Message, for His Majesty believes it doth very well become him, after this very long Delay on their side, at last to utter his Impatience, since that the Good and Blood of his Subjects cry so much for Peace. Which words, how much they look like the words of a Tyrant or a Villain, as he is commonly called by our present pretending Patriots, I leave any man to judge.  
And, in the month following, in another Message he says thus. Notwithstanding the unexpected silence, instead of Answers, to His Majesty's many and gracious Messages to both House, whereby it may appear, that they desire to attain their Ends rather by Force than Treaty, which may justly discourage His Majesty from any more Overtures of that kind, yet His Majesty conceives he shall be much wanting to his Duty to God, and in what he owes to the Safety of his People, if he should not intent to prevent the Inconveniencies that may any ways hinder a safe and well-grounded Peace. Which words certainly are not the words of a Tyrant.  
Well, after these Messages from Oxford, His Majesty, for Reasons best known to himself, leaving Oxford in a disguise, and committing himself to the Scotch Army then by Newark; pray let us see what he does when in his Enemy's Hands: Why, Good man, still he breathes nothing but Peace, as you may see by the following account; for, from Southwell he writes to the two Houses, and tells them, That he withdrew from Oxford only to secure his own Person, and with no intention to continue the War any longer, nor to make any Division between his two Kingdoms, but to give such Contentment to them both, as, by the Blessing of God, he might see an happy and well-grounded Peace, thereby to bring Prosperity to these Kingdoms answerable to the best time of his Progenitors: And, that he might satisfy them he was in good-earnest, and designed no Tricks by way of Postscript he tells them, That being dasirous to shun the further Effusion of Blood, and to evidence his Real Intentions to Peace, he is willing that his Forces in and about Oxford be disbanded, and the Fortifications of the City dismantled, they receiving Honourable Conditions, which being granted to the Town and Forces, His Majesty will give the like. Order to the rest of the Garrisons. And, pray let the honest Reader judge where lay the fault now, and who rid the Nation, and prolonged its Miseries, the King, or those whom our present Pretenders to the only Loyalty to Their present Majesties, call The Old Blades, The Brave Fellows, The noble Defenders of their Laws and Country; though at the same time they trampled them all under their Feet, and set up their own Wills in opposition even to Magna Charta if self. And surely, he that hath but half an Eye, may see who were the Continuers of the War, and for what reason, namely, To ride upon the high places of the Earth, to kill and take possession.  
And after this the Great and Good man sends a Letter to the City of London, in which he tells them, That nothing is more grievous to him, than the Troubles and Distractions of his People; and nothing on Earth is more desired by him, than that it Religion and Peace, with all the comfortable Fruits of both, they may henceforth live under him in all Godliness and Honesty: And this Profession, says he to the City, we make for no other end, but that they may immediately know from himself, his Integrity and full Resolution to comply with his Parliament in every thing for the settling of Truth and Peace. Words becoming the Excellent and Religious Temper of this Great man.  
After this, he sends another Message from Newcastle, to the two Houses, in which, among many other things, he desires them, That the Propositions of Peace so often promised and so much expected, may be speedily sent to him, that upon consideration of them, he may apply himself to give such satisfaction as may be the founddation of a firm Peace. And, to convince every man who would be convinced, that he was in all his Desires for Peace the very same man, that is, True, and in Earnest, the same day he writes this Letter to the Houses, he sends another to the Governors of his remaining Garrisons, telling them, That having resolved to comply with the Desires of his Parliament, in every thing which might be for the Good of his Subjects, and leave no means  for removing all Differences between them; therefore he had thought sit, the more to evidence the Reality of his Intentions of settling ●… happy and firm Peace, to require them, upon honourable 〈◊〉, to quit those Towns, Forts, and Castles i●…ed to them by him, and to disband all the Forces under their several Commands. And, pray what Tyranny is there in all this? And, upon what account is this Great man so basely accused as he is at this time by Thousands of this Nation? Certainly, when they read all this, they must needs fall foul upon themselves, for being guilty of so much Unworthiness and Dishonesty, to the Memory of so great and good a man as he was.  
But now some may say, You talk all for the King here Pray what said the two Houses to all these Messages? Were they wholly deaf to his Offers? Did they ●…orn any Answer to his Proposals? No, no; that they might seem to be for Peace, they sent Propositions to the King at Newcastle, but, I must tell the Reader, they were such as would make any man, that wishes well to his Native Kingdom, sick to read them; such Demands, as no man that had any sense of Honour could possibly grant. For first, he must justify by an Act of State all that they had unjustly done to him; he must be obliged to take the Covenant, and sign an Act for others to do so too; he must part with the Power of the Sword, and indeed, be thereby but a mere cipher in the Kingdom; and that which must needs grate upon a generous and noble Spirit, such as his was, he must pass an Act to except from Pardon, and to lay at these men's merciless Feet the best and truest Friends he had in his Kingdom, such as from Principles of Honour and Duty had ventured both their Lives and their great Estates in his Service. And, Good man, because he would not sign all these, together with many other unreasonable things, he must forsooth be called then, and now also, a Tyrant.  
It would be too tedious to entertain the Reader with what His Majesty made by way of Answer to these Propositions, and besides, swell this Paper beyond its designed bulk, therefore I do refer the Reader to the Royal Papers themselves, only thus much I must tell the World; That His Majesty thought nothing, at this time, would so soon conduce to a Peace as a Personal Treaty, which therefore he pressed hard for, not doubting but by that means they might come on both sides to a true understanding of one another; and therefore, that he might not fail of having this Request granted him, he ends his Letter to them with these words. To conclude, 'tis your King who desires to be heard (the which if refused by a King to a Subject, he would be thought a Tyrant for it) and for that end which all Men profess to desire; wherefore His Majesty conjures you, as you desire to show yourselves really what you profess, even as you are good Christians and Subjects, that you will accept this his Offer, which he is confident God will so bless, that it will be the readiest means by which these Kingdoms again may become a Comfort to their Friends, and a Terror to their Enemies. Which words are not the words of a Monster or a Man of Blood, as some vile men are now ready to call him, (the greater is their shame) but the words of a truly-compassionate Father of his Country, whose Heart bled for the Wounds of his Children and the Miseries of the Nation.  
After all this, the Scots, notwithstanding all their Promises and Obligations, sell him to the English Parliament, and His Majesty is put into the Hands of Commissioners appointed to keep and watch his Person, and brought by them to Holdenby-House in Northamptonshire, where his Conversation was so agreeable and sweet, his daily Discourses so strong and convincing, that he changed: the Opinion of many that were about him, so that they became constant Admirers of his Virtues ever after, and great Bewailers of having had an Hand in bringing him into those straits, out of which they could not now extricate him.  
Now, while he was here, let us see what further Offers he made for Peace. The first Message to both Houses from this place, acquaints us with his bad Condition; that his Servants were denied access to him, unless it were a very few, whom they appointed themselves; and that it was a declared Crime for any but the Commissioners, or such as were particularly permitted by them, to converse with His Majesty; or that any Letters should be given to, or received from him (a condition no man, much less a Prince, could be proud of.) Yet he tells them, and therefore would not stand upon that, That he preferred a Right Understanding betwixt him and his Parliaments of both Kingdoms, which might make a firm and lasting Peace in all his Dominions, before any Particular of his own, or any earthly Blessing: And, to show he was in earnest, he than makes such Concessions to them, as certainly would have been accepted of by any sort of men, but such as had not yet satisfied their own Avarice, Ambition, and other Lusts, and therefore were resolved to perpetuate the Distractions of the Kingdom, in order to continue themselves in Places of Wealth and Power: For, he offered to settle their Church-Government for Three Years, and at the same time, the Assembly of Divines at Westminster and the Directory, provided His Majesty and his Household were not hindered from the Form of God's Service which they formerly had. Further, he offers another Act for the better observation of the Lord's Day: He consents, that the whole Power of the Militia, both by Sea and Land, for the space of Ten Years, be in the Hands of such Persons as the two Houses should nominate, giving them a full Power, during the said space, to change or else to continue the said Persons in their several Offices: Which when he had offered, he conjures his two Houses of Parliament, as they are Englishmen, and Lovers of Peace, by the Duty they own to His Majesty their King, and by the Bowels of Compassion they have to their fellow-Subjects, that they will accept of this His Majesty's Offer, whereby the Joyful News of Peace may be restored to this languishing Kingdom. Which Offers had so great an eftect upon the Citizens of London, (tho' they had none at Westminster) that they forthwith petitioned the Lord Mayor and Common-Council, and tell them thereby, That taking into serious consideration, how Religion, His Majesty's Honour and Safety, the Privileges of parliament, and Liberty of the Subject, were at present greatly endangered, and like to be destroyed; and also sadly weighing with themselves what means might likely prove most effectual to procure a firm and lasting Peace, without the further effusion of Christian English Blood, have therefore entered into a  Engagement, and do humbly and earnestly desire, that the whole City may join together by all lawful and possible means, as one man, in hearty Endeavours for His Majesty's present coming up to his two Houses of Parliament, with Honour, Safery, and Freedom, and that without the nearer approaches of the Army, there to confirm such things as he hath granted in his last Message, in answer to the Propositions of both Kingdoms.  
Which Petition, you must understand, was not presented by them called the Cavalier Party, but by such as had ventured their Money and Plate for the Cause, and had taken the Covenant, and many of them exposed their Persons to fight for that which they through mistake, apprehended Religions and the Nations Cause, yet these men were so far from thinking His Majesty such a Bad man, as some designing men now report him to be, that they looked upon his Concessions, as every ways answering that for which at first they took up Arms.  
Well, after this, the King, upon more than ordinary grounds to believe that his Person was in danger at Hampton-Court, (whither the Army, after they took him by force from Holdenby, after many removes, had carried him) makes an escape from them by night, but withal, leaves a Paper behind him upon the Table, wherein he gives an account with what patience he had endured a redious restraint, which, so long as he had any hopes, that this sort of Suffering might conduce to the Peace of his Kingdom, or the hindrance of more effusion of Blood, he did willingly undergo; but finding by too-certain Proofs, that this his continued Patience would not only turn to his personal Ruin, but likewise be of much more Prejudice than Furtherance to the Public Good, he thought he was bound, as well by natural as political Obligations, to seek his Safety, by retiring himself for some time from the public view both of Friends and Enemies. And after he had appealed to all indifferent men, to judge, whether he had not just cause to free himself from the hands of those who changed their Principles with their Conditions, and who were not ashamed openly to intent the Destruction of the Nobility, and who had changed and put strict Guards upon him, with the discharging most of all those Servants of his, whom formerly they willingly admitted to wait upon him: After he had said all this, with a great deal more ●s the Reasons of that Retirement, he concludes the P●… with these words: Let me be but heard with Freedom, Honour, and Safety, and I shall instantly break through this Cloud of Retirement, and show myself really to be Pater Patriae. And here I cannot forbear again to ask, What Tyranny is there in all this? and, With what Face is this Great man reflected upon so barbarously at this day, as he is by some men in all parts of the Kingdom (an unheard of thing, considering that those that sprung from his Loins are in the Throne)? Certainly they either never read his Story, or if they did, they are resolved against Conviction, and keep alive in their Breasts such Resentments, on purpose to help them to serve another turn when opportunity (which God forbidden) shall offer of the same nature.  
The next News, after this, we hear of His Majesty, is from the Isle of Wright, under the Command of Hammond the Governor, into whose hands he had committed himself.  
And, pray let us see how he carries himself there, and whether he did not make all Essays for Peace, and the Settlement of the Nation upon a firm and lasting bottom, that so King and People might enjoy what belongs to them both, without future fear or danger. Yes, yes; we find him again at the same Work, labouring with all his Might for Peace: For, tho' he left Hampton Court but the 11th of Nou. 47, yet on the 17th. he sends Propositions for Peace, wherein he grants again what he had done before so greatly to the Contentment and Satisfaction of the Citizens of London; but alas, it seems to be too late now, for he had lost his Power, and the Faction resolved never to part with it again, they had tasted the sweetness of Usurpation, and the relish would not easily go out of their Mouths; and therefore, as he sell low in his Offers, so they risen higher, and made bigger Demands, and to show their great Desires of Peace, or indeed, which hath more Truth in it, of continuing themselves in Places of Trust and Honour, which they thought they could not do without making the Breach betwixt the King and themselves wider and wider; therefore the more crafty and subtle Party of the House of Commons (which were the Independent Party, who had got at that time too great a sway both in the House and Army) procure four Bills and Propositions to be sent to the King to sign, ready drawn up, together with the Heads of 23 more, which whosoever will be pleased to read, may easily judge of the Spirit that then reigned, and the wicked and destructive Designs then on foot: Bills, that they were assured beforehand, if the most solemn Protestations on the King's side could convince them, he would never pass, and indeed, which upon bare Principles of Conscience he could never pass, without an utter overthrow of the Peace and Satisfaction of his Mind. And so cunning were they to make Demands at this time that might have no effect, that the Bills they sent (which they could not but foresee) the Scots Commissioners protested against to the King, and therefore they proposed ahem so high, that the King might deny them, and the War be thereby prolonged.  
The Answer His Majesty makes to these four Bills, is great and admirable, to transcribe the whole would be too tedious; in short, he tells them, That he believes it clear to all Understandings, that these Bills contain (as they are now penned) not only the divesting himself of all Sovereignty, and that without a possibility of recovering it either to himself or Successors, (except by repeal of those Bills) but also the making his Concessions guilty of the greatest Pressures that can be laid upon the Subject, as in other particulars, so, by giving an Arbitrary and Unlimited Power to the two Houses for ever, and after much more said upon that Subject, he concludes his Answer thus: That His Majesty is very much at ease within himself for having fulfilled the Offices both of a Christian and a King, and will patiently wait the good Pleasure of Almighty God, to incline the Hearts of his two Houses to consider their King, and to compassionate their fellow-Subject's Miseries.  
Which Answer, and Refusal of his to sign these four Bills, so causelessly enslamed the then Lords and Commons, that, as if they were sole Masters in Israel, they vote, That they will make no further Addresses or Applications to the King, nor that any Address be made to him by any other persons, without the Leave of both Houses: And, to show their Absolute and  Power, they vote, That whoever shall make Breach of this Order, shall incur the Penaties of High Treason. Nay, to pin the Basket up, they vote, They will also receive no more Messages from the King, and enjoin all persons to receive and bring none from him. Here is your Loyalty indeed! This is to act as becomes humble and dutiful Subjects with a witness; what pity it is, that these great Heroes Statues are not set up in every Corner of the Kingdom, with this Label at their Mouths, No more Addresses to our King. But, What says the Good man to all this? What Resentments hath he upon this great Honour done to him, thus to be as it were dethroned, by those who were under the Obligation of Oaths of Fidelity to him and his Posterity? Good man, he presently makes a Declaration in Answer to these Votes, and gins, Am I thus laid aside, and must I not speak for myself? No, I will speak, and that to all my People; and so goes on with Reflections upon his Condition, enough to melt the Hearts of any but those who made those hardhearted Votes; or those of the same Principles. Now I am under a Necessity of of Brevity, or else I would transcribe the whole, whereby, I am sure, I should force Tears from all tender persons Eyes; I refer therefore the Reader to the Papers themselves, only tell him he concludes it thus: It may be easily gathered, how these Men intent to govern who have used me thus: And if it be my Hard Fate to fall, together with the Liberty of this Kingdom, I shall not blush for my self, but much lament the future Miseries of my People, the which I shall still pray God to avert, whatever becomes of me.  
After this, how these Votes were recalled, and a fresh Treaty agreed upon in the Isle of Wight; how the Treaty was managed; what Strength of Reason and Judgement the King manifested, both in his Debates about Church as well as State-Affairs, any man may satisfy himself that reads the Accounts from August to December, in the year 48, where he will find at last His Majesty, for Peace, sake, makes such Concessions, that the major part of the House, after many hours debate, came to this Vote; That His Majesty's Concessions to the Propositions of Parliament upon the Treaty, are sufficient Grounds for settling the Peace of the Kingdom. And happy had it been for the whole Nation, if they had passed such a Vote some years before, upon what the King offered them, they had prevented the wasting of abundance of Blood and Treasure; but alas, their Eyes were in their Heads now too late, the Army was now too much poisoned with Commonwealth and destructive Principles, and therefore, notwithstanding all their former Assurances of Submission and Faithfulness to the Parliament, they make bold to let them know, they have been under the Jurisdiction of better Masters, and have learned another Lesson, and therefore, when the House met again, they very fairly lay violent hands upon their Persons, and forcibly pluck them from their Duty, and confine a great part of them, keeping them under a strict Guard. What followed after this, is known to all the World: The Great, the Good, the Wise, the Condescending King, his Person is seized by order of the Army, he is brought up to London, tried and condemned by a Mock-Court of Justice, against all Law, Justice, Honour, Oaths, and Promises; and, at last, barbarously murdered by his own Palace.  
And thus died Charles the First, the Glory of the English Monarches, the Mirror of Patience, the great Pattern of Religion and Devotion, and whose Name among good and unprejudiced men hath ever since blossomed in the Dust; and may the Judgements that have followed the Nation since, be the last upon the account of that horrid and unheard-of Murder. Amen, Amen.   

POSTSCRIPT.  
READER,  
I Have reserved an Answer to some particular Objections, which are commonly made by this Great Man's Enemies against him, by way of Postscript, having not had a fair occasion to bring it into the Body of this little Book; only before I make it, I must beg leave to tell thee what I have observed concerning the men that are now so busy in defaming and scandalising this Great and Pious Prince, namely, That they are most of them persons that were not born when the Horrid Murder of the King was committed, and that have not read his Story at all, but are only put on by old Foxes, that lost, by the Restauration of Charles the Second, what they never had a legal Right to, and therefore long to be dabbling again in Crown and Church-Lands; which indeed is the true Notion of these men's Liberties and Properties of the Subject.  
First, They confidently say, That he was a Papish, or at least, Popishly inclined; and therefore, by way of Scorn, nothing is more usual, than to hear them saying, That the late King James was the best of the Three; meaning King Charles the First, and his two Sons that reigned after him.  
Now, by way of Answer to this base and false Imputation, I will not trouble thee, Reader, with any tedious and long Defence, for they that hear this Scandal, after they have looked into the Life and Conversation of this Great man, must both scorn and pity the Malice as well as Ignorance of such as lay such an Aspersion at his Door: And for an eternal confutation of it, I beg of thee to take good notice of this true Story.  
His Majesty being to receive the Sacrament, in 1643, at Christ-Church in Oxford, from the Hands of the Lord Archbishop of Ardmagh, rising up from his Knees, and beckoning to the Archbishop said,  
My Lord, I espy here many resolved Protestants, who may declare to the World the Resolution I now make.  
I have, to the utmost of my power, prepared my Soul to become a worthy Receiver; and may I so receive Comfort by the Blessed Sacrament, as I do intent the Establishment of the True-reformed Protestant Religion, as it stood in its Beauty in the happy Days of Queen Elizabeth, without any Connivance at Popery.  
I bless God, that in the midst of these public Distractions, I have still liberty to communicate. And may this Sacrament be my Damnation, if my Heart do not join with my Lips in this Protestation. And he that will continue to scandalise this Great Person, after he has read this Story, upon this account, is resolved to be an incurable—  
Secondly, Another thing they lay to his charge at this time, is, That he set on foot and encouraged the Irish Rebellion.  
Ans. They that talk at this rate, I am sure, have never read his Story; or if they have, it has been with an invincible and resolved Prejudice. His frequent and public Detestations of it, his groaning under the Miseries and Murders of his poor Protestant Subjects there, his offering to go in Person to subdue the Rebels, are sufficient Vindications of him, against this vile Defamation, and will ever be received as such amongst good men.  
But, to strike this Objection dead, over and above all those Defences the King made for himself, and the Scorn and Defiance he gave to the pretended Broad Seal to countenance the Rebellion, which is Forgery all over, give me leave to lay before the Reader these two things.  
The Lord Macquire, a great and bloody Rebel, being taken Prisoner, and conveyed to London, and there tried for his Life at the King's-Bench-Bar, for High Treason, where being found guilty, he had Sentence pronounced against him, as a Traitor, which Sentence was particularly executed in the presence of the Sheriff and, it's believed, of Fifteen thousand Spectators.  
Now, when he came to Execution, the Sheriff abjured him by the dreadful Tribunal of God, before which shortly he was to appear, and for the clearing and easing of his Conscience, that he would then ingenuously confess whom he knew guilty of the same Crime, namely, the Irish Rebellion; upon which the Criminal, though the Rope was about his Neck, and he half way up the Ladder, yet, by Name, he acquitted King Charles from being any ways privy to it: Nay, says my Author, being cast off the Ladder, and when he had tried what Hanging in part was, being reprieved, and had no small hopes given him of a Pardon, he still persisted in the same Protestation. And that which further convinces me, and so it will any unprejudiced man besides, of the truth of this, is, That when they came to draw up the Charge against him, in order to his Trial and Condemnation, though their business was to blacken him with all the foul Imputations their Malice could rake up, and they did so, yet not one word in the whole touching his abetting or countenancing the Irish Rebellion; which certainly they neither could nor would have omitted, if they had had any Grounds to believe and to charge him with it.  
Thirdly, The last Objection against him is, his Divine and Holy Book: It is not to be imagined with what Industry they have, within this last year, endeavoured to persuade the World it was a Forgery, and not of his compiling; and there is a certain Essex Doctor of Divinity, who has assisted this Objection to the utmost of his power, with a false Story, which I will presently refute, and set the whole in a true and proper Light.  
Ans. I could never obtain Leave of myself to believe that any Man could write at that divinerate, but he that felt the Miseries that suggest such Thoughts and Heavenly Meditations; the various Conditions of men, good men, wonderfully help them, in their Retirements and Solitudes, to Divine Intercourses and Aspirations; and he that could counterfeit such things, and make such Appeals to God, without being in such Conditions as those Appeals suppose, must be rather next to an Atheist than a good Christian. And if the Essex Doctor had any value for the Memory of his deceased Friend, he would certainly have forborn telling it in all places, with a more than usual Confidence, as he hath done, and that for this one reason.  
The Story, in short, that he tells, is this; That Dr. Gauden, then of Bocking in Essex, made this Book, and sent him; then his Curate, to the Press with it, which command he obeyed, and accordingly did so carry it, in order to its printing.  
Now the Truth of the Story is thus: There was one Mr. Simmons, a learned and pious Minister, who lived near Dr. Gauden in Essex, and who, out of a true Affection to His then Majesty's Person and Cause, writ a learned Defence of the King, with which the King was so pleased, that he presently resolved, that this person should have the perusal and correction of his Book, and accordingly sends it by a trusty Messenger.  
The Book, when looked over by him, did so affect him, (and no wonder) that he could not forbear sending for his Neighbour Gauden, in order to make him happy with himself, in the sight and reading of such an inestimable Jewel; Dr. Gauden would not be denied the kindness of taking the Book home with him, for a few days, which upon importunity Mr. simmond's (knowing the Dr. a Wellwisher at that time to the King) granted; Dr. Gauden presently falls to transcribing of it, and in some days, with great Labour and Application, finishes it, and so returns the Original to Mr. simmond's again.  
Within a while the great Storm coming upon the King, which at last, God knows, wholly overset him, Dr. Gauden, out of a true Affection to his Master the King, hoping thereby to do him Service, sends his Copy by the Hands of this Doctor to the Press: And so far, and no farther was he concerned in it.  
And whereas it is said, that Dr. Gauden told King Charles the Second he made the Book, the Truth of the Story is this: That he putting in for the Bishopric of Worcester, and meeting with some opposition from Bishop Sheldon, the King asked him what Pretences he had to so great a Favour; he answered, That he put out his Father's Book; which Answer, tho' true in some sense, yet being ambiguously spoken, as it got him the Bishopric, so it also gave Rise to the late Earl of Anglesey's Memorandum, which hath made so great noise in the World.  
But, to put all things out of doubt concerning this Book, give me leave to tell this Story: I was, not many weaks ago, in Conversation with Sir John Brattle a worthy person, and who hath long enjoyed a considerable Office in the Royal Mint, with whom discoursing about King Charles the First, and particularly of the Suspicions raised of the Truth of the Book, he frankly told me, and assured me the Truth of this Story.  
That in the year 47. King Charles having drawn up the most considerable part of this Book, and having writ it in some lose Papers, at different times, desired Bishop Juxon to get some Friend of his (whom he could commend to him as a trusty person) to look it over, and to put it into an exact method; the Bishop pitched upon Sir John's Father, whom he had been acquainted withal for many years, who undertaking the Task, was assisted by this his Son, who declares, he sat up with his Father some nights, to assist him in methodizing these Papers, all writ with the King's own Hand: Thanks be to God, Sir John is yet alive, and is ready to give the same Account to any man that asks him.  
And whosoever, after this, will suspect this Book, is certainly a man of that temper, who will keep up his Prejudices against this Great man, in spite of all Evidences, though as clear as the Sun at Noon: And for my own part, I must tell him, that I think it not worth the while, to attempt his further satisfaction; because nullum remedium Deus posuit contumariae, God Almighty hath not provided a Remedy for Resolved Stubbornness in the ordinary course of dealing with Men; and if nothing but Miracles will convince them, I have no Commission to pretend to them.  
FINIS.