CONSIDERATIONS UPON A Printed Sheet ENTITLED THE SPEECH Of the LATE Lord Russel TO THE SHERIFFS: TOGETHER, With the PAPER delivered by Him to Them, at the Place of Execution, on July 21. 1683.  
LONDON, Printed by T. B. for Joanna Brome at the Gun in St. Paul's Churchyard. MDCLXXXIII.   

To the READER.  
[IT is better to Obey God, than Man] says the Text. [It is better to Obey the Devil than God] says the Comment. And are not those People now in a Happy State, d'ye think, that know not One Step of the Way to Heaven Themselves; and have such Interpreters for their Guides? This is the True Form of Godliness that Denies the Power of it; And This the Principle, that, wherever it takes Root, loosens the Foundations of Civil Government, and Obedience; And makes way for the Erecting of a Kingdom of Darkness upon Those Ruins. There's a Great Deal in That same Old Adage; [Where God has his Church, The Devil has his Chapel;] for Religion is as well the Pretence of the Worst of Men, as it is the Duty, and Business of the Best. Where Satan cannot prevail for Idolatry, he'll content himself with Heresy, and Schism; And with the dashing of One Altar against Another. Where he cannot Overthrow the very Ground of our Faith, he'll Compound for Liberty of Conscience; And some Plausible ways of Disguising it. Next to the setting up of a False God, is the Begetting a False Opinion of the True One; Which is almost an Equivalent; Only the One's a Material; And the Other's a Notional Idol: The One's the work of our Hands; And the Other of our Imagination. At this rate, it is, that we Confound Realities, and Apperances'; Fancy, and Conscience.  
This may look perhaps as if I were quite Running away, both from my Reader, and from my Business: But I am, in truth, upon the very Point of my Subject. What was it that Ruined that Unhappy Lord, (Whose Case is the Argument of this Paper; And whose Unhappy Fate, I Lament from my Soul) but the being bigoted into This Principle? And what Kingdom, or Government, where it Obtains, is able to stand against it? If Lucifer himself were let Loose, he would Preach upon That Scripture of Mat. 10. 28. And Pervert the Text. This Doctrine of Resistance in case of Religion, is the Source of all our Fears, and Jealousies, Seditions and Conspiracies; Men that are Drunk, will Sleep themselves Sober again. We have Bedlams for Lunatics. Gibbets, Pillories, Whipping-Posts, and Jails for Common Criminals: But there's No Discipline, No Cure for Enthusiasts. Is Religion at Stake? Bring in [a Bill against the Duke of York to disable him from Inheriting the Imperial Crown.] Is Popery the Question? Come to a Resolution Immediately, [That if his Majesty shall come by any Violent Death, (No matter who kills him) it shall be Revenged upon the Papists.] Is there a Popish Plott? 'Tis but the Bricoling of a True Protestant Association, that upon the False Bound shall Play upon the Government. And then we are to Consider again, that This Proposition is not only an Incentive to a Rebellion, and a Justification of it; but it makes the Concealment of the Conspirators as much a Point of Conscience, as the Treason itself. And how Ridiculous then is the Pretence of Defending that by Force, which no Force can reach? I never heard of any man's Religion yet that was taken away upon the Pad.  
Upon This Maxim is Grounded all that is Mischievous, or Dangerous, in the Subject of These Considerations; And I have done what I thought my Duty to Do in the Exposing of it. These Papers had come out sooner, but that I was Tricked into a Delay: But Julian is in the bottom on't; And I'll forgive any man that stands up for his Author.   

CONSIDERATIONS UPON A Printed Sheet, ENTITLED THE SPEECH Of the LATE Lord Russel To the SHERIFFS, etc.  
I Have not set Pen to Paper upon this Subject, without first consulting all the Points of Decency and Duty, which I thought might properly fall within the Limits of this Discourse: As the Honour of a Noble Family; the Quality and Misfortune of an Eminent Person, together with matter of common Respect to Truth, Justice, Christian Charity, Candor, and Good Manners: Having no other end in these considerations, then to do a Fair and Necessary Right to the Government, within that Compass; I call it a Right to the Government, because there is not one sound Part in the whole Body of it, from Head to Foot; if this Paper may be Credited: And as the business has been Managed and Improved, [The Cry of Innocent Blood against Oppression and Injustice,] would have been a Title much more Suitable to the Air and Drift of it, then that which it now bears. It carries the Face indeed of the Testimony of a Dying Man: But yet if a Body considers either the Style, the Scope, the Declarative, or the Confessing Part of it, there's nothing less in't: Not so much as one Period, without a Starting-hole, where there lies any stress upon the Truth, either of the Intention, or of the Fact in Question: Now for this Vein to run quite through it in a Constant Course of Reserve, Mystery and Disguise, there needs no more to Prove, that it was Designed for an Amusement: for Methods never come by Chance; so that the Artifice is not wholly to be Neglected; and yet I shall not lay more weight upon't than the Thing will bear.  
The Two Points in Consideration are the Speech and the Paper. Now some will have it, that though the Speech was certainly my Lord russel's, there may be some doubt yet concerning the Paper that went along with it. And this Conjecture they ground upon the Ambiguities that Occur, both in the Title, and in the Speech itself, which they Reason upon, after this manner. The Title, they say, tells us barely of the Delivery of it by my Lord Russel: And then in the Speech, there is not One Syllable more, concerning the Paper so Delivered than These Numerical Words [Mr. Sheriff, I have set down in This Paper all that I think fit to leave behind me.] My Lord does not first Read This Paper to the Sheriff, and then Own it. My Lord does not say [Mr. Sheriff, The Contents of This Paper are True, in the whole, and in every part of it, So Help me God.] My Lord does not say, [Mr. Sheriff, I do here deliver this Paper to you upon my Death, as the Truth, and the Full Truth of my Case.] But my Lord says, [I have Set down in This Paper.] which Setting down imports no more than the simple Writing of it: And so goes forward [All that I Think fit to leave behind me] which might have been as well said, in this Case, if the Paper had been an Act of Parliament, instead of the Testimony of a Dying Man. And what's the meaning again of [All that I think Fitchow] in This Place? These Words by a Scotch Figure, may signify, as the Reader pleases; either Any Thing, or just Nothing at All; But however at a venture, a Man may conclude that there is something More yet, which he does Not think fit to set down; And That, for aught any Body knows, may be All that is worth setting down; Or (which is the same thing) All that the Reader will find missing in This Paper. And then, why [Leave behind me?] (they say) unless in the Literal Sense, That I do not Carry it with me; for there's no Attestation, Annexed to't; No Solemnity of Acknowledgement or Protestation to Accompany the Delivery of it; no Circumstance to make it a Memorial of any thing more than the Transferring of the Paper out of One hand into Another; insomuch, that the matter lies at Fast or Loose, whether this Paper shall be Reputed my Lord's Act or no.  
My Answer is, that this Paper was Written by my Lord, Subscribed by my Lord Delivered by my Lord; and that by these Visible Solemnities it became My Lords Act.  
It was Manifestly My Lord's Intention that it should be Taken for His Act; And it is but Common Justice to allow and to understand it so to be. It has been likewise Published and made use of by some of my Lords nearest Relations, As my Lord's Act, and with Infinite Zeal for his Lordship's Advantage and Behoof. Now after all these Authoritative and Punctual Formalities of Proceeding, there is not any Man that has a Tenderness for the Memory of That Unhappy Person, but would rather Entitle him to this Paper, (how ill contrived soever) than charge him, on the other hand, with double-dealing and mental Reservations at his Last Hour; As if his dying Thoughts had been only taken up with Studying how to lead People into the dark; and to amuse the World with a Riddle, never to be unfolded, after the Closing of his Lordship's Eyes, till the Day of Judgement; But let every Man take it which way he pleases, it comes, in my Opinion, to the same Issue at last; That is to say, Take the Speech and the Paper, Together; or take them apart, 'tis much at one.  
[God knows (says the Speech) how far I was always from Designs against the King's Person, or of Altering the Government.]  
This Passage now according to the sincerity of Popular Usage and Construction is as much as to say, [God knows it, I was ever against these ways;] but than if a Man looks at it through a pair of Reformation-Spectacles, 'tis a mere deceptio visus; and there is nothing at all to be seen; for a body may be up to the Ears in a Design, and yet Cry out with a safe Conscience [God knows how far I am against it.] But there follows another Clause that seems to come closer a great deal, i. e.  
[In the Words of a Dying Man, I Profess I know of no Plot, either against the King's Life, or the Government.]  
These Words, in plain, honest English ought to pass for Current, and as good as Sterling betwixt Man and Man; but he that reads them with a Kirk Comment, will put them to All Touches and Tests, if he be wise, before he Receives them. [I Never knew of any Plot] would have been much Fuller and much Homer to the Indictment, than [I know of no Plot;] For the neck of it is now broken; and it is no longer in Being. And then in the Restraining of that Disclaimer, to the King's Life, or the Government; There's a Salvo left yet for the Seizing of the Guards, and for the Imprisoning, Deposing, or doing any other Indignity to the King, short of his Life. And All This without any Change of Government too; for the Monarchy is the Same still, though the Crown perhaps may be Translated from One Head to Another. Thus we see, Every Line's a Snare: But I can never believe, that my Lord spoke These Words with the Intention of him that Penned them, but rather that Unhappily he took the Paper by Content, and without much Examining, either the Stamp, or the Mettle paid it out again as he Received it. In One word, Somebodyelse Prepared the Poison, Put it into my Lord's hand for a Cordial, and his Lordship Delivered it over to the People: Not but that upon the main of my Lord's Trial, Sentence and Execution, as the Strictness of the Method was Absolutely Necessary, so the Process was managed with all possible Respect and Justice.  
We come now to the Paper itself, which in several Places looks liker the Character of a Primitive Christian Exposed to the Lions in a Roman Theatre; or That of an Unfortunate Hero in the Field, than the Figure of a Person under the double Calamity of such a Cause and such a Sentence.  
[I reckon This as the Happiest Time of my Life, though Others may look upon it as the saddest.]  
Can any Man living that has Flesh and Blood about him, understand This Hyperbole according to the Letter, especially under the Circumstances of such Mortal Mistakes and miserable Illusions? What could a Martyr at the Stake, under a Guard of Angels have said Greater than This? And here's The Arrow drawn to the Head again.  
[The Importunity of my Friends, and particularly of the best and dearest Wife in the World, prevailed with me to sign Petitions, and make an Address for my Life; To which I was very Averse; For (I thank God) though in all Respects I have lived One of the Happiest, and Contentedst Men of the World, (for now very near Fourteen Years) yet I am so willing to leave all, that it was not without Difficulty that I did any Thing for the Saving of my Life; that was Begging.]  
How strangely has the Author of This Paragraph mistaken his Proportions! To draw the Character of a Seraphical, Resigning Christian from the Copy of a Stomackful, huffing Cavalier, and to talk of the Last Test of a Dying Man's Religion and Profession, as if there were no more in't than a vain Punctilio, upon a point of Honour in a Swordman. Is it become a Shame for a Delinquent to Acknowledge his Fault? For a Condemned Person to Pray for a stop to the Execution of Justice? For a Subject that by his own Confession has done amiss, to beg Pardon of his Sovereign? How long has it been a point of either Bravery, or Conscience, for a man to be so Averse to the Saving of his Life, as to oppose the only Proper and possible (nay the Lawful and Honourable) means of preserving it? A Petition in This Case, is so far, methinks, from Needing, either a Secondary Motive to the Inducing of it, or an Excuse for the doing of it, That, without being wanting to Himself, his Family, and his Friends, I cannot see how he could have Declined it. My Lords Signing of the Whole, has made him become Answerable for every Part: But these High Flights were Undoubtedly the Strokes of Another Pen, that took more Care to Advance and Support the Credit of a Faction than to keep within the Bounds of Sobriety and Decorum, in respect of his Lordship's State and Condition. There are several Dashes besides too, that seem to be Influenced by the same Genius; and Written and Published with the same Design; and with no more Regard neither, to the Case of the Person, or to the Pretence of the Paper.  
[I wish with all my Soul (says the Paper) All our Unhappy Differences were Removed; and that All sincere Protestants would so far Consider the Danger of Popery as to lay aside their Heats, and Agree against the Common Enemy; and that the Churchmen would be less severe, and the Dissenters less scrupulous; for I think Bitterness and Persecution are at all times Bad, but much more, NOW.]  
'Tis true; My Lord's Hand makes This Clause my Lord's Act again: But He that Penned it, thought of nothing less, upon the Drawing of it up, than my Lords Business: For what's a public Reformation to a private Confession? Here's a Gentleman, Agonizing in Extremis, brought-in with an Expedient in his Mouth against Popery. What's Toleration, Comprehension, Association, (for that's his Proposal) to a Man that's brought to his last Miserere; and upon the Critical and Final Discharge of his Soul to Almighty God? Here's a Christian under the Instant, and the Indispensable Obligation of Forgiving all Mankind, brought in (with his last Gasp betwixt his Teeth) Arraigning both Church and State, with Cruelty and Persecution. And what's the Severity of the Churchmen that He Complains of? And what's the Persecution; but the Executing of the Laws upon Others: And living in a Dutiful Obedience to them, Themselves? Persecution (he says) is ever Bad, but much more NOW.] What an Emphatical Note is it that This Critical [NOW] should be pitched upon for the Season of Indulging the Dissenters; which They have chosen out for the Season of taking Possession of the Government? But the Humour is Carried on; and there's a great deal more of the same Stuff still.  
[For Popery, I look on it as an Idolatrous and bloody Religion; and therefore thought myself bound [in my Station] to do All I could against it; and by that, I foresaw I should Procure such Great Enemies to myself; and so powerful Ones; That I have been now for some time Expecting the worst; and blessed be God, I fall by the Axe, and not by the Fiery Trial.]  
The First Period has in it, the very Style, as well as the Doctrine of the Old Covenant. There's the Doctrine of Resistance in't; with an Allowance (nay and an Obligation) for every man to be Seditious [in his Station.] The Second Period MEANS, That my Lord Russel fell under the Revenge of the Duke of York for Promoting the Bill of Exclusion. This Clause had my Lords General Assent as well as the Rest; but in Conscience and in Charity, I do firmly persuade myself, That it was gained by a Surprise, when the Disorder of His Lordship's Thoughts, and the shortness of Time, perhaps would not bear much Deliberation; For whereas the Death of This poor Gentleman is Invidiously Charged upon the Duke, for his Opposing Popery; the Duke Himself was to have been Murdered (nay and the King too) by the Pretending Anti-Papal Party; and it was my Lords heavy Lot to Fall under the Fate of That Conspiracy. And the Bare Murder was not All neither; for Those that call themselves the True Protestants, were to have Done the horrid Fact: (And according to the Vote) to have revenged it upon the Papists. The Penman after This, makes the Unhappy Gentleman to Bless God, That he fell by the Axe not the Faggot; when yet at the same Time, so far was the Faction from dreading the King, the Duke and the Government, that Those very People that made the Greatest Noise with their Fears, jealousies and Apprehensions were themselves United in a Conspiracy to Blow up All, in one common Ruin. Now for the matter of Foresight and Expectation of Mischief; it is no wonder for Men that run desperate Courses to live in the Apprehension of Dangerous Effects.  
[I did believe (says the Paper) and I Do still, That Popery is Breaking-in upon the Nation; and that Those who Advance it, will stop at nothing to carry on their Designs. I am heartily sorry, that so many Protestants give their Helping-Hand to it.]  
Was there ever such a Reckoning cast up betwixt the Great God and a miserable Sinner, and not One Moment left to set things Right in, betwixt That, and his Appearance at the last Tribunal? Here's not so much as One Syllable all this while, to my Lord's Case, but only Clamours for fear of Popery; Invectives against the Pretended Bringers of it in; Legal Protestants turned over into the Popish Calendar; and all this while, the Persecuted Persons are the Aggressors. God forgive the Man, whoever it was (if he has not sinned unto Death) that wrought upon my Lord to Own this Enflaming Paper. And I cannot but hope, in Charity yet, that betwixt the Delivery of it and the Stroke, his Lordship Repent of the Temerity, and found a Place for Mercy.  
But to spell a little upon These Words [I Did Believe, and I Do still, etc.] He does not say, upon what Grounds; He Propounds no Remedy; Offers no Proof: We hear nothing by whom it is to be brought-in, or by what means: But it seems, there are both Papists and Protestants in the Confederacy. Why does he not tell us who they are, of Both Sorts? Or if it be only a bare Conjecture, methinks the King and his Council should be able to see as far into This Business as the Prevaricator: Or let it be as it will, I challenge the World to show any One Colourable Reason for the Printing of it, that's Honest: To give the Adviser his due, This Paper was never Calculated either for my Lords Cause or Service, any further than to make use of his Name as a Vehicle, to convey the Spirits of this Venom into all the Corners of his Majesty's Dominions. But he goes forward.  
[I hope God will preserve the Protestant Religion, and This Nation: Though I am afraid it will fall under very great Trials, and very Sharp sufferings. And indeed the Impiety and Profaneness that abounds and appears so scandalously Barefaced every where, gives too just Reason to fear the worst things which can befall a People. I pray God prevent it, and give those who have showed concern for the Public good, and who have appeared Hearty for the True Interest of the Nation. and the Protestant Religion, Grace to live so, that they may not cast a Reproach on that which they endeavour to Advance.]  
God deliver me from a Confessor, at my last Hour, that when I have but one Moment left to make my Peace with God in, shall put me upon employing that very Instant in casting Fire-Balls into a Nation, to set Three-Kingdoms in a Flame: And instead of shrifting my own Conscience, to be Raking in the Puddle of the Iniquities of my Neighbours. What's the End of these Terrifying Alarms, but to Gall and Tease the People, without any hope of Remedy, unless by flying to that Damned Principle of Conditional Obedience, to Imbrue my hands in the Blood of my Sovereign? What's the English of this same [Publick-Good] hear; Appearing [Hearty] The [True Interest of the Nation] and the [Protestant Religion?] What is it, but the Old Cause in a New dress; And the direct Encouragement of a Schism, and Sedition, against the Authority both of Church and State? And then here's still the neverfailing Topique at hand, of Impiety and Profaneness with a Characteristical Note of the other Party; As men Concerned for the Publick-Good, Hearty for the True Interest, and the Protestant Religion; under which Notion, the Shammer of this Paper upon my Lord, did beyond all controversy, Intent the Conspirators: For it does not only Answer his Ordinary Description of them; but he would have told us in Plain Terms, if he had meant otherwise, or at least he would have cast in as much Schism and Rebellion into the other Scale as would have kept the Balance Even. Not but that the Sedition and Profaneness are now (God be thanked for it) come to be both of a side. And here again;  
[What ever Apprehensions I had of Popery, and of my own severe and heavy share I was like to have under it, when it should prevail; I never had a thought of doing any thing against it Basely or Inhumanely; but what could well Consist with the Christian Religion, and the Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom: And thank God, I have Examined all my Actings in that matter with so great Care, that I can appeal to God Almighty, who knows my Heart, that I went on Sincerely, without being moved either by Passion, By-end, or Evil-Design.]  
We are still upon the same Train of Uncertainties and Generals. Why should My Lord have these Apprehensions, by reason of His opposing Popery? When the King, the Church, and the Laws of the Land are against Introducing the Religion of the Church of Rome, as much as His Lordship: But if the Paper means One Popery, and the Law Another; (As 'tis clear by the Context of it, that the Church-Protestants and the Papists are to be blown up into the Air Together) the Pretext of Religion is Degenerated into a Point-blank Sedition: And every man that Suffers for Treason, shall presently at this rate be made a Martyr for the Reformation. And again, will the Composer of this Paper have my Lords Suffering in this Case, to be an Argument that Popery prevails; because his Lordship foresaw the Hard Measure he was likely to have, in Case it should prevail? Neither will the Lawfulness of opposing Popery, in any sort, Excuse the Doing of it by Unlawful means. There must be no Seizing of Guards in the Case; The Fear of a False Religion is no Defence, either before God or Man, for the Violence of an Actual Rebellion. How much more Forcible then is the Condition of Our present Instance; where the very men that pretend to Fear Popery, are so far from Fearing it Indeed, that it is one Branch of the Conspiracy to say they Fear it: A Second, to give it out, that the Papists are about to Kill the King; And at the same time, to Resolve to do it Themselves: And the last Round of the Ladder, is, by Consent, so soon as ever they have Executed the Villainy, to make Proclamation that the Papists did it. But now we come to the Deplorable Nicety of my Poor Lords Case; which, in Appearance, seems to be well nigh the Single Proposition, wherein the Confessor and the Penitent agreed; And this was it, which cost both Himself and that Noble Family so Dear.  
Popery was to be Opposed it seems, but not Basely or Inhumanely; The Guards were not to be Massacred or Killed in their Beds; But if the same thing in Effect might have been done Bravely, and Sword in Hand, I see nothing in this Paragraph to the contrary, but that in substance it might have been Justified; for BASELY and INHUMANLY are the Two only Exceptions that I find to the doing of it: And they do Tacitly Imply a kind of Approbation of the Thing, Provided it might have been done in a way of Reputative Generosity and Honour; for here's no Regard either Had or so much as Intimated in That Particular, to the Laws either of God or of Man.  
There follows indeed a kind of Restriction (by way of a Salvo) That the Proceeding aught to hold a [Consistence with the Christian Religion, and the Laws, and Liberties of this Kingdom.] And where are we then? If Julian the First and the Second; If Apostates, and the Common Bretrayers of Kings, Masters and People, shall be made the Judges of That Christian Religion: Or Hunt and Ferguson, the Arbitrators of our Common Rights? Oh how I curse the First Minute that ever gave Admittance to any of these Mutinous and Sanguinary Levites, any of these Popular or Seditious Boutefeus', under the Roof of that Honourable House! Hin● ille Lachrimae! for That mistaken Principle was the Root of all this Evil; And the Main Incentive, (I persuade myself) to the doing of Many ill things by the Impulse of That Delusion: Had not a Man better have a Cloven Foot in's House, than one of these Cloven Tongues? The Devil, Barefaced, puts a Man to his Prayers; He Summons up his Resolutions, and Implores a Powerful and a Merciful God for his Assistance, with a Horror all this while, for the Character and the Company of his Seducer: But in the Other Case, a Man Abandons himself to the Impostor; Consults no other Oracle, but takes his Enemy into his Arms, and Opens his Heart for the Spirit of Error to Enter in, and take Possession of him, Pins his Faith upon the Sleeve of his Guide, and Swallows the Ruin both of Body, Soul and Estate, with Greediness. He takes the Broad Way for the Narrow, etc. God Deliver all Honest Men out of the Clutches of these Parasitical and Rapacious Hypocrites! The Dictator of this Paper says, that [My Lord Examined all his Actings:] And truly so much the Worse, if they were Examined by Applying them to False Rules and Measures: And then he Vouches for the Sincerity of my Lord's Heart, which Sincerity avails little too, if it be founded upon a wrong Principle: And no Purgation at all, neither, of his Innocency, in case of an Erroneous Judgement.  
Now to Close this Remark; the whole Paragraph is Mystery; and there may be Wrapped under it, what Meaning soever the Reader shall find Reasonable to Impose upon it: for a thing may be Contrary to the Laws both of Heaven and Earth; and yet in His Sense neither Base nor Inhuman. Julian and Hunt, make that which the Law calls Rebellion, to be Consistent with our Laws, Liberties and Religion: And then for the [Examining of his Actings] My Lords Monitor knows that Ravillac did as much; and in his own Private Thoughts, Approved them too. Our Regicides here at Home, did the same thing, and yet their Actions never the Better, or the more Warrantable for having stood That Trial. We'll come now to his Reflections upon the Bill of Exclusion.  
[I cannot but give some Touch about th● Bill of Exclusion, and show the Reasons of my appearing in that business, which in short is this: That I thought the Nation was in such danger of Popery, and that the Expectation of a Popish Successor (as I have said in Parliament) put the King's Life likewise in such danger, That I saw no way so effectual to secure Both, as such a Bill. As to the Limitations, which were proposed, if they were sincerely offered, and had passed into a Law; the Duke then would have been Excluded from the Power of a King, and the Government quite altered, and little more than the Name of a King left. So I could not see either Sin or Fault in the One, when all people were willing to admit of t'other; but thought it better to have a King with his Prerogative, and the Nation easy and safe under him, than a King without it, which must have bred Perpetual Jealousies and a Continual Struggle. All this I say, only to justify myself, and [not to inflame Others,] though I cannot but think, my Earnestness in That Matter has had no small Influence in my present Sufferings.]  
With Honour to my Lords Reasons for the Bill; the Best and the Truest Reason that ever I met with for't, was This; That the Exclusion of the Duke would certainly draw the Crown after it; and that the Suppressing of Monarchy and Episcopacy was the Best Expedient, that ever was heard of, for the Preventing of Tyranny and Popery; so that the Disease was expressly invented for the sake of the Remedy: In the Parliament-Case, the King's Life, it seems, was in danger for the Successors sake: And in the Plot-Case, the Successors Life was in danger, for the King's sake: There were Limitations offered (he says) but whether SINCERELY offered or not, he makes a Question, (for which his Majesty owes him a Thousand Thanks) but whether the One or the Other, they were however very heartily Rejected; and he gives This Reason for't. They would have left the Duke only the Name of a King, without the Power; But my Lord's Prompter was Resolved, that the Duke should either have All or None; and that the Heir should be quite struck off rather than the Crown Maimed. Now upon This Consideration; (and for the saving of the Prerogative, and for the Ease of the People,) The Paper-Writer Absolves my Lord from either Sin or Fault, in the business of the Bill; forgetting upon set Purpose on his Lordship's behalf, That my Lord had Promoted the Bill before ever these Limitations were thought of. Touching the Influence that my Lord's Earnestness in That matter might have upon his After Sufferings; I shall easily Agree with the Supposer of it, That there might be something in't; for the Pro●ect of Secluding the Duke, was a Limb of that Design, which afterwards grew up into a Formed Conspiracy, and Unhappily brought This mistaken Lord to his End. But to impute any part of my Lords Sufferings to the Malice of a vindictive Spirit, for what he either said, or did, in Parliament, would lie open to so many Disproofs and Contradictions, that there is not place for any man in sound Sense so much as to imagine it. My Lord most Unfortunately fell into a Cabal of Malcontents; frequented their Meetings; joined with'em in their Councils. There was a Conspiracy Carried on, which, by the Mercy of God was seasonably Detected: My Lord, with others, Apprehended upon it; brought to a Fair Trial, the Matter Legally Proved: And his Lordship Himself, not able to Deny the Substance of the Charge. Upon This, he was found Guilty, Sentenced and put to Death. And what's All This to any Court-Influence of Revenge, for his Lordship's Earnestness about the Bill? But we have taken up an opinion in these late Times, as if the putting of an Indignity upon The Heir of the Crown were enough to make a Man Shot-free, and HARD, as they say, And that the 25 Edw. 3. could never Touch him after.  
But as I was saying just now, The Faction had Two Capital Designs in Contemplation; the One was the Destroying of the Duke and the King: And the Other was the Destroying of the King and the Duke. The Former was to have been Executed by Bill; and the Other by Gun-shot. The Passing of the Bill had absolutely done the Work; but in a way of Form, and by Wots and Ordinances, which we have found to be every jot as sure, as Protestant Flails or Blunderbusses. For One Disinherison opens a Gap to Another. And when they have once got the Trick of Putting by a Successor, whom they do not like; 'tis Fifty to One, the Humour will take them of liking no Successor at all; and so by Degrees, there will follow a Transition from a Dislike of the Person to a Dislike of the Government: And the Monarchy itself will be found as Great a Grievance, as the next Heir. When they are once entered upon this Train of Reformation, there will be care taken that we shall never want more work for the Tinker; till the New State-Menders may come to have the stopping of Those Holes that they made themselves: All Councillors shall be Popish, all Ministers and Officers, the Guards, the Militia, and All Persons whatsoever in any Station of Trust and Power, they shall be Papists or Popishly-affected, every Man of 'em; saving such only as shall stand the Test of a Secret Committee. Now by this time we are within One Remove of a True Protestant Commonwealth: There is One Question that I have put at least half a dozen times already, without Receiving so much as the least Pretence to an Answer: And I shall offer it once again to the Consideration of the Exclusion-Men, Let any Man show me One Argument, that strikes upon the Succession of the Duke, which does not equally Operate upon the King in Possession too. For the same Popery that unqualifies the Lawful Successor for the Inheritance of Sovereign Power, does as well Unquallify the present Occupant for the Exercise of it: As it is an Equal Sin, in the sight of God, the Destroying of a Child in the Womb, or the Squeezing of the Brains out when it comes into the World.  
Consider now again, that as the King was to be wounded through the Duke, so long as matters were to be Carried on with a Countenance of Authority, Law and Conscience; so the Duke was to be NOW wounded through the King, when they found themselves driven upon a Forced Put, and to the making of an Attempt by Violence: but still They were Both to be Destroyed, Both ways; only, vice versa; the Duke to go first in a Parliamentary-way: And as Hone said) the King to go first in an Assassinating way But wh●●'s All this still to the Case of a Dying Man? I shall proceed now.  
[From the time of Chase Sheriff's, I Concluded the Heat in That Matter would prod●c something of This kind; and I am not much surprised to find it fall upon Me; and I wish what is done to Me, may put a Stop, and satiate some People's Revenge; and that no more innocent Blood be shed; for I must, and do still look upon MINE as SUCH; since I know I was quilty of no Treason; and therefore I would not Betray my Innocence by Flight, etc.]  
It was well judged, that the City-Ryots would probably [produce something of this kind] that is to say, Conspiracies and Resolutions of Tumult and Rebellion: And the Evil Genius at my Lord's Elbow, does well enough Observe that there was no great matter of Surprise in't; for my Lord that was Embarked in the same Vessel, to take his Part in the same Storm. But how comes Legal Justice to be called [some People's Revenge?] Or why may not All Criminals whatsoever, that fall under the dint of the Law, Arraign the Justice of the Nation, upon the same Terms? It does no more hold, on the One side, that the City-heats should make my Lord guilty, than on the Other, that they should make him innocent; neither do Those Distempers, in any sort, fall within the Prospect of This Question: Beside, That this way of Reasoning inverts the very Nature, and Tendency of them: For they are here represented as a subservient Medium toward the Advancing of a Popish Interest, when the Contrary is as clear as Day: And that it was a Republican and a Fanatical Spirit that stirred up, and Animated All those Broils; and that they did it upon such Grounds and Principles too, as shook the very Monarchy itself. But if my Lord drew any Ill Bodings to himself from Those Disorders, it was by a Prophetical Foresight of the Fatal Miscarriages of the Sedition that was then a Brewing: and of his own Unhappy share in the Misadventure. We have spoken already to the point of Revenge, and we shall speak further to his Lordship's Innocence in the due Place; as to his [Averseness to the betraying of his Innocence by Flight,] either the Inference is not Good; or else, All Those that are Fled are Guilty. The Paper says, that he was [Guilty of no Treason,] but the Judges were of One Opinion, and my Lord's Council of Another.  
[I know (says the Author of the Paper) I said but little at the Trial, and I suppose it looks more like Innocence than Gild.]  
Can it be imagined, that my Lord did not Defend himself as well as he could? And it is the First Time perhaps, that ever saying little to an Accusation, was made an Argument of a Man's Innocence: But of this hereafter, and so I shall go forward.  
[I pray God (says the Paper) lay not this [my Condemnation] to the Charge, neither of the King's Counsel, nor Judges, nor Sheriffs, nor Jury; and for the Witnesses, I pity them, and wish them well; I shall not reckon up the Particulars, wherein they did me wrong, I had rather their own Consciences should do that; to which, and the Mercies of God I leave them.]  
Here's a most scandalous Defamation thrown out against the King's Council, the Judges, Sheriffs, Jury and Witnesses, all at a Cast; though the Manage was so Fair in All Respects, that the Justice and Patience of the Court was Acknowledged by the very Zelotes of the Party themselves: They could not but Confess, that the Trials were Candid and Clear; they were heard at large; the Proofs indubitable, and seconded by their Own Confessions. But I must Observe again, that this Paper makes them Guilty, only by a Figure, and prays for them without charging them. It Prays for the Witnesses, [wherein they did my Lord wrong;] but he is not pleased to reckon up the Particulars: Nor is it said, that they did him any Wrong at all. The Penman will not charge my Lord's Conscience with Averring any thing that is False; but he has Coloured it so, as to make the People Believe he had wrong done him, and that will do as well. He leaves the Particulars, however, [to their own Consciences and Gods Mercys:] so that, in short, This Paper is only a Scotch Mist from one End to the Other. There's a bold Insinuation of Injustice; but not One Syllable in Proof, or so much as to Colour it.  
But we'll put the Case now that my Lord had really suffered All the Wrong he Complains of; 'tis true, it was the Part of a Generous Christian to close his Eyes with St. Stephen's Prayer; but then the printing of That Prayer stands in a Direct Opposition to the seeming Piety and Resignation of it; for it lays Innocent Blood to the Charge of the Government: And Exposes the Administrators of it to the uttermost Rage and Fury of the Multitude, as the most Abominable Monsters upon the Face of the Earth; and All this, without the least Thought, Hope, or Possibility of any Other Benefit by it, than the Tearing of All to pieces, and the making of This Paper to do the work of the Conspiracy. Can any body think that his Lordship would not have laid his finger upon the wrong, if he had suffered any? Or that if he could (as he says) have reckoned up any Particulars, that he would not have done it? He says in another Place▪  
[I do freely forgive All the World, particularly those concerned in taking away my Life; and I desire and Conjure my Friends to think of no Revenge.]  
These Words are only the same Prayer with the Former, turned into Sin (as the Prophet David says) but managed Another way: And the short English of this Ejaculation is a Prayer to Almighty God to forgive his Murderers; with an intent to cast the Gild of shedding Innocent Blood now a Second Time upon the Ministers of Justice? And what does the Artificial Hypocrite that Penned this Paper, but in the very Act of Conjuring my Lords Friends to think of no Revenge, Do all that is possible by This Printed Appeal, to draw on a public Vengeance from the Irritated and Seditious Rabble And once again now.  
[I never pretended to a Great Readiness in Speaking, I wish those Gentlemen of the Law, who have it, would make more Conscience in the use of it, and not run Men down by Strains and Fetches, Impose on Easi● and willing Juries to the Ruin of Innocent Men, for to kill by Forms and Subtleties of Law is the worst Sort of Murder: But I wish the Rage of hot Men and the Partiality of Juries may be stopped with my Blood, which I would offer up with so much the more JOY, if I thought I should be the last were to suffer in such away.]  
This is only a Strain and a Fetch (as the Paper says) for the running the same Scandal over again, with a little Varying the Phrase. Who are those Unconscionable Gentlemen of the Law? Whom do they run down? What are the Strains and Fetches? Or where are the Easy and willing Juries? The Ruined Innocents'? Or the Murders according to Art? The Outrageous Men, and the Partial Juries? The People are to understand this to be my Lord's Case, though the Author himself has not the Face to make it so, either on the One side, or on the Other; and then he has wrought the Character too High, in the Expression of my Lords Offering up his Blood [with the more joy] instead of the less Trouble or Affliction; and Concludes with the laying of Innocent Blood again to the Charge of the Government. Upon the whole matter, this is only more and more Calumny, and Iniquity added to Iniquity. Whoever suggested this Dictate to his Lordship, might have minded him of those very Gownsmen and Juries, that he speaks of, within the Memory of Man: and of a Time, when People were Destroyed, not only by Forms and Subtleties of Law, but by mere Noise and Tumult: and to the End, that nothing may be wanting to the filling up the Measure of the Scandal; the King Himself comes in for his share too, when he prays [that He may be [INDEED] the Defender of the Faith] implying That he is only so as yet in show and Title. It may be another Question now, in what Creed we are to look for That Faith, which the Contriver of this Paper would have his Majesty to Defend: Or in what Part of Dr. Burnet's History of the Reformation, a body may be sure to find it.  
[I have Lived (he says) and now Dye of the Reformed Religion; A true and sincere Protestant, and in the Communion of the Church of England, though I could never yet comply with, or rise up to all the Heights of many People.]  
That is to say, I am not of the Church of Rome in General, not a Papist, but a Protestant, and a Church of England Protestant too; Baring, the [Established by Law] College Himself went thus far, and yet no body knew what to make of him at last. We have a hundred and fifty several sorts of English Protestants, and consequently in his Sense, so many Communions of the Church of England: For All the several Sects have their several Churches, and when they are put to the Touch, Every Sect Denominates itself of the Church of England: So that instead of the Simplicity of a Declaration and Confession, we have not hitherto so much as One Line, that is not wrapped up in Equivocation and Mystery: but the Only way of Expounding his ●ntent in this Particular must be by a Collation of Parts and Comparing as we do Scripture-Difficulties) One Text with Another. He Complains in One Place of Bitterness and Persecution, and Charges the Churchmen with Severity. He Reflects in Another Place upon [many Protestants that give a Helping Hand to Popery,] Now it cannot be Imagined, that the Shame Confessor (whoever he be) reckons my Lord, either among the Persecuting, or among the Popishly-affected-Protestants; So that there's no Church of England Communion left him, but that of the Dissenters. And what does he mean again, now, by the [Heights of many People?] the Standard of a Legal Conformity is neither Higher nor Lower, than the Established Rule and Measure: So that upon the Unriddling of this Clause, the wondrous Difficulty terminates in a very plain Resolution: i.e. That the Protestant hereby intended, is a Dissenting Member of the Nonconforming Communion of the Church of England. Thus far we have had Nothing but Doubling and Shifting: But after a Diligent and a Careful Search for One Clear and Plain Dealing-Period or Two, that might in some Degree Atone for the Oraculous Elusions of the Rest; this is the Only Point-blank-Assertion that I find in the whole Paper▪  
[I shall Averr, that what I said of my not hearing Colonel Rumsey deliver any Message from my Lord Shaftsbury, was TRUE, for I always Detested Lying, though never so much to my Advantage; And I hope none will be so Unjust as to think I would adventure on it, in These my last Words, for which I am so soon to give an Account to the Great God, the Searcher of Hearts and Judge of all Things.]  
I take this to be the most Remarkable Passage in the Paper, being the Only Point that my Lord delivers upon his Death, to be a Truth, without power of Revocation; And it is done too, with a Solemnity as Dreadful as the Contemplation of Divine Justice, and a Judgement to come, can make it. All the Rest is Loose and Dubious, and may be taken One way as well as Another: But in this, the Asseveration is Positive and Precise, i. e. that [What my Lord said of his not hearing Colonel Rumsey Deliver any Message from my Lord Shaftsbury, was True] We'll take it for granted now, that my Lord did Not hear the Delivery of That Message: That is to say, a Message from the Earl of Shaftsbury, [That it was High Time to come to some Resolution about the Rising It does not therefore follow, that because My Lord did Not hear the Delivery of the Message, he knew nothing therefore of the Contents of it? His Lordship heard the Subject Matter of the Message Debated; And he Herd the Answer that was Resolved upon in Return to that Message: Which was in Effect, [That Mr. Trenchard was not Ready, and therefore they could not as yet go on.] Nay, My Lord did not deny the Hearing of the Answer, but put the Question himself at his Trial, [Whether or no he Consented to that Answer:] And Colonel Rumsey delivered upon his Oath, that he did both Advise about it, Treat and Consent; So that it is not the value of a Single-Hair, (if there were Twenty Thousand Lives at Stake upon it) whether my Lord Herd that Message Delivered or Not. What's the Meaning then of laying the Stress of his Salvation upon't: He Purges himself of no Part of his Charge by't, but rather by the Frankness of his Protestation in a matter of Little or No Importance, and without leaving himself any Room for an Evasion, he draws a Suspicion upon the Candour and Clearness of all the rest, for it looks Oddly to see a man so Wonderfully solemn, and Particular in one single Case, where 'tis not a farthing matter whether it be Cross or Pile: And yet at the same time so Dark and Doubtful in twenty other Instances, where all that can be dear to a Man of Integrity and Honour, is concerned. But the Paper itself gives the Reason of this Different way of Proceeding, in saying that my Lord [always detested Lying:] Upon which consideration it has Distinguished betwixt things True and False, by the Peremptory Strictness of the One, and the Ambiguities and Reservations of the Other, which is the only Key that Opens the Meaning of this Paper. And there's another thing to be observed, which is, that This very Truth was designed as a means to lead the Reader into a Mistake, as if My Lords not hearing the Delivery of the Message, were sufficient in Consequence, to Discharge him of the Gild and Danger of the Consultation. My Lord's Adviser has showed himself a great Master in the Doctrine of Probabilities, This Paper quite throughout. There's but One plain Truth in't, and yet as the matter is ordered, there is hardly One Falsity neither, but it runs altogether in Appearance and Disguise, like one of your Turning Pictures that shows you a Beast on the One Hand, and a Man on the Other. It was Generally Noted, that my Lord had very little to oppose in his own Defence at his Trial; and his Black Angel has found out a Shift for That too.  
[I was Advised not to Confess Matter of Fact plainly; since that must certainly have brought me within the Gild of Misprission; and being thus Restrained from dealing Frankly and Openly, I chose rather to say Little, then to depart from That Ingenuity, that, by the Grace of God, I had carried along with me in the former Parts of my Life: And so could Easier be silent, and leave the whole matter to the Conscience of the Jury, then to make the Last, and Solemnest Part of my Life so different from the Course of it, as the using Little Tricks, and Evasions must have been.]  
I cannot bring the several Parts of this Clause to a Consistence One with Another. My Lord was Advised against Confessing PLAINLY, FRANKLY, OPENLY. He Followed That Advice; And in so doing, Minced the Matter, and Confessed NOT PLAINLY Nor FRANKLY, Not OPENLY. That is to say; he Confessed Misteriously, and kept himself upon his Guard: which, how Prudent soever, was yet a Departure from the Scrupulous Dignity of his Lordship's Figure, in This Paragraph; and falls within the Compass of the Little Tricks and Chasions which I find in the very same Period, Condemned. But where's the Hurt now, of a Man's Employing All the Honest Arts, and Methods, for the Defence of his Life that the Cause will bear? As desiring to know the Panel, for the purpose; Time to Consider of it; Liberty of Challenges, and the like. But to Descend now from This Elevated Resolution to the very matter of Fact; I dare appeal to the most Partial, or rather to the most Favourable Friend my Lord had in the world, whether he thinks that his Lordship Abated any thing of the Defence that he could or would otherwise have made, upon the reason here Alleged; of keeping up the Congruity of his Character, to the end that in his Life and in his Death, he might be all of a piece. I must take notice again, that it is a very Extraordinary way, for a Prisoner at the Bar to be silent, where he has any thing to say for himself; And so to clear the whole matter to the Conscience of a Jury, when in Conscience they must Necessarily find him Guilty, if the proofs Reach him; and that he has nothing to say, to the Contrary. And then there's Another foul Blot too, in saying, that the [Confession of the Fact, PLAINLY,] must [CERTAINLY have brought my Lord within the Gild of Misprision.] That same [CERTAINLY] has showed the World the very Bottom of the Business; for what becomes of [The Words of a Dying Man] then, that my Lord knows of No Plot, either against the King's Life, or the Government] when here's a Plain Confession of the Knowledge of a Conspiracy, and the Concealment of it? There can be no Dispute upon this Contradiction, but the Denial must of Necessity be either False, or Double. The One Pinches upon a Point of Honour; The Other looks only like a Trial of Skill: And so we shall content ourselves to cast it into the Heap of his other Amphibologies. (I make use of a Hard Word for a very Ill Thing, because I would not have the Common People understand the meaning of it.) And it is upon This Condition, too, that the Reader shall be at liberty to take all his Other Reservations by the same Handle; for upon the Solution of This Difficulty, depends the very Issue of the Question. There Remains One Slip more yet, wherein the Author seems to have Overshot himself. There's a Reproach fastened upon his Lordship's Council, as if They had Trained him into a Snare, by Misadvising him. 'Tis True, that the Paper does not say expressly, whether they were Professed Gownmen, or Particular Friends that gave the Advice: But yet for the Reputation of his Lordship's Prudence, it must be understood of Lawyers; as the Only Competent Directors that my Lord could make use of, in such an Extremity. Who can Imagine, now, that any Lawyer, (though never so little Skilled in his Profession) could Advise my Lord upon Fair Instructions, and a Manifest Certainty of what would be Sworn against him, to Smother, or to Extenuate the matter of Fact; lest (as the Paper Insinuates) it should be found Misprision of Treason? when Effectually, This Lawyer could have told my Lord his Doom beforehand: And that it would undoubtedly have been found, not only Misprision, but Treason itself. In which Condition; my Lord's Council, would rather have advised him to have thrown himself upon the King's mercy. And there is more than a Tacit Acknowledgement of my Lord's Gild, In several other Parts of this Paper: But I'll take This following passage in my way to the rest.  
[As I never had any Design against the King's Life, or the Life of any Man whatsoever; so I never was in any Contrivance of Altering the Government: What the Heats, Wickedness, Passions, and Vanities of Other Men have Occasioned, I ought not to be Answerable for; nor could I Repress them, though I now Suffer for them: But the Will of the Lord be done, into whose Hands I commend my Spirit, and trust that Thou, O most merciful Father, hast forgiven me all my Transgressions; the Sins of my Youth, a●d all the Errors of my past Life; and that Thou wilt not lay my secret Sins and Ignorances' to my Charge, etc.]  
I shall here Recommend one special Note to the Reader: Which is, That in Five several Places (i. e. Twice in the Speech, and Thrice afterwards) this Paper Restrains my Lords Endeavour to discharge himself from the Dint of the Indictment, to the express Hints, of the King's Life, and Altering or Changing the Government. As for Example: [God knows how far I was always from Designs upon the King's Person, or Altering the Government: In the Words of a Dying Man, I profess I know of no Plot, either against the King's Life, or the Government.] And then afterwards; [I never had any Design of Changing the Government, etc.] I would have suffered any thing rather than have consented to any Design to take away the King's Life.] And so again in the Clause last abovementioned. The Hammering of This Point over and over, so often, was, Undoubtedly, to strike the Deeper Impression, and to create, in the unbiased Multitude, a Stronger Persuasion of my Lord's Innocence. But why in the Same Words still? And with so Cautious, and Particular a Limitation, to Those Two Articles; if it were not to Accommodate That Popular Cover to some Hidden Meaning? But the Fallacy that's Couched under [The Kings Life] and [Altering the Government] is exposed already. It is said here, That my Lord had no Design against the Life of any man whatsoever: 'Tis hard to imagine a War, and no body to be Killed in't: But there's a Salvo for That too; That the Individual Person was not thought of. Neither do I believe that my Lord ever Designed to take away the Life of Dr. Hawkins, though he said in his Passion, that [he hoped to live to see him Flayed and Hung up.] That which follows next, speaks my Lord Privy to a Great many Ill Things; And it is not enough to say, that he could not Repress them; For they were of such a Quality, that his Lordship was Bound, both by Oath, and Duty to Discover them; Or at the least, In Honour, and in Conscience, to have avoided a Conversation that carried on such Dangerous Designs.  
And now to speak one word to that which passes for his Lordship's last Prayer. We have his own Acknowledgement of a Misprision of Treason, And yet not one syllable upon that Subject, in his Parting Confession. But he that wrote this Paper is a Professed Enemy I perceive, to the Christianity of a Clear Confession.  
I hope no body (says the Paper) will imagine, that so mean a Thought could enter into me, as to go about to save myself by accusing others▪ The Part that some have Acted lately of that kind, has not been such as to invite me to love Life at such a Rate.]  
A Man shall not need to Guess twice, who was the Author of this Sentence; for 'tis written with the very Spirit of a Carguelite that makes Treason, a Virtue, and Repentance a Mortal Sin: And my Poor Lord, in the Anguish of his Thought, is left here to Answer for the Lewdness of Another man, who, (Notwithstanding the Justness of my Lord's Sentence,) is Incomparably the Greater Criminal. If he ever was, or Pretended to be a Minister of the Gospel, (For there are julian's in Black-Coats, and more Julian's than One too) what could be more Luciferian; then to turn Penitence into a Scandal; And to Preach it for a Point of Religious Honour, in a Christian, not to Discover his Complices in a Rebellion. Surely the Author of this Paper was afraid of being Discovered himself; And therefore Inculcates the Principle, and Recommends it. Is it such an Indignity, for a man to [Save himself by Accusing Others?] What is it then for a man rather to Damn his Soul by the Perjurious Concealment of a Traitor; then by Discharging his Duty, both to God and to his Prince, to lay down This Life in hope of a Better, through the Merits and Intercession of a most merciful Saviour? The Penman's [Savin of Himself, by Accusing Others,] is only the False Gloss of a Reprobated Seducer upon the Text. And then the Instance of his Reproach upon the King's Witnesses, in this Matter, is a Farther Discovery of the Venom of him that gave the Dictate. This is a way chalk'd-out, not only for the Encouragement, but almost the Canonising of Conspirators. Here is an Acknowledgement however, that my Lord Could have Accused Others, if he Would. We shall come now to the Matter of Fact.  
[As to the Conspiring to seize the Guards, which is the Crime for which I am Condemned, and which was made a Constructive Treason for taking away the King's Life, to bring it within the Statute of Edw. 3. I shall give this true and Clear Account. I never was at Mr. Shepherd's with that Company but once, and there was no undertaking then of Securing, or seizing the Guards; nor none appointed to View, or Examine them; Some Discourse there was, of the Feasibleness of it; And several times by Accident, in General Discourse, elsewhere. I have heard it Mentioned as a thing might easily be done; but never Consented to as Fit to be done, And I remember particularly, at my Lord Shaftsburys, there being some General Discourse of this Kind, I immediately flew out, and Exclaimed against it, And asked [If the thing succeeded what must be done next, but, Massacring the Guards, and killing them in Cold Blood?] which I looked upon as so Detestable a thing, and so like a Popish Practice, that I could not but abhor it: And at the same time, the Duke of Monmouth took me by the Hand, and told me very kindly, My Lord, I see you and I are of a temper. Did you ever hear so horrid a thing? And I must needs do him that Justice, to Declare, that I never observed in him but an Abhorrence to All Base Things.]  
My Lord was charged by the Indictment of High Treason, for Conspiring, Compassing, and Imagining the Death and Destruction of the King; And the Raising of a Rebellion within the Kingdom. Now this was a Consultation in Order to that end: And for that which is here called a Constructive Treason, It was much a Plainer Act of Treason than any thing in the Articles against my Lord Chief Justice Scroggs; And yet That passed for a very Current, House-of-Commons-Treason. The Paper says, that my Lord was but once at Mr. Shepherds with that Company: Mr. Shepherd swears it Twice, with the same Company: But that Slip of Memory shall go for Nothing. There was [No Undertaking to seize the Guards,] it seems; nor any [Appointment to View, or Examine them.] That's because it was not yet come to a Resolution: But here's no Denial at all, of a Debate or Consultation toward it: The Exploit was found [Feisible, and several Discourses about it.] But said only to be in General, and by Accident; Is it meant that they Met by Accident, and so fell upon Discourse only by Accident; And that This Particular of [Seizing the Guards] fallen in only as an Accidental Discourse? This way of Disguising the Truth is as Clear to any man that has Eyes in his head, as if it were a Plain Confession of it; for if it were meant Good Faith, the Author would have strained himself for another Invocation of [the Great God, the Searcher of Hearts, and Judge of All Things,] to bear Witness to the Explicite Truth of the Case. But [it was never Consented to as Fit to be done.] Now That Fitness may refer to the Time; the Means; the Ways, the Instruments. They had not yet Pitched upon a Safe, and Effectual Way perhaps, for the doing of it: But there was [More, General Discourse now of the same Kind at my Lord Shaftsbury's] And This was a Terrible General Discourse, for it made my Lord immediately Fly out, and Exclaim against it. I wish the Paper had set forth what this General Discourse was; And what the Other was too, that fell in by Accident; And whether that General Discourse and This General Discourse, were not as good as all one: But in short; Such General Discourse, it was, that it wanted but one step, of Massacring the Guards; Or cutting their Throats in their Beds; which, the Paper says, [My Lord Abhorred it for, being so like a Popish Practice] A Presbyterian Practice would not have done a miss neither in This Place, if a body had had the Murder of the Late King; Montross; The Archbishop of St. Andrews etc. in his thought. But shall any man at last be so Weak, as to swallow it, that [Did you ever hear so Horrid a Thing,] was only an Exclamation upon a General and Accidental Discourse? All the Rest went down well enough, till it came to the Cut-Throat-part of it. And that was the Point that Startled them: The Doing of the Business, either in a Brave, Generous Way, Head to Head; or with Cap in Hand; And a Compliment of Loyalty, and Respect, to Desire his Majesty, in These Dangerous Times, to sign a Demise of his Three Kingdoms, to the Use of the Council of Six; Or to a Band of Associators, for the Security of his Sacred Person, and the Protestant Religion; I do not find, (by any thing I see yet) that the Men of Honour (if the Paper-Writer might have had his Will) would have Boggled at such a way of Proceeding; But the doing of the Thing Basely, was the Business; And the Scruple that was made, was upon a Point of Bravery, not Conscience. But to Continue the Story.  
[As to my going to Mr. Shepherds, I went with an Intention to taste Sherry; for he had promised me to Reserve for me the next very good Piece he met with, when I went out of Town; and if he recollects, he may remember I asked him about it, and he went and fetched a Bottle: But when I tasted it, I said 'twas Hot in the Mouth; and desired that whenever he met with a Choice Piece, he would keep it for me which he Promised. I Enlarge the more upon This, because Sir George Jefferies Insinuated to the Jury, as if I had made a Story about going thither; but I never said, [That was the Only Reason] And I will now Truly and Plainly add the rest.]  
By this Paragraph, the Reader is to be held in hand, that my Lord's BUSINESS to Mr. Shepherds was to taste Sherry: And the Paper goes about to Refresh Mr. Shepherd's Memory, by such and such Tokens, the Word is [with an Intention to taste Sherry] which in common Speech, does fairly insinuate, as if the Tasting of Sherry had been the chief End of his going; Whereas supposing that to be in his Intention, it might be, nevertheless yet, the least part of his Business: And further, the Author of this Paper has not thought fit to give us any Sort of Light, what his Business was: Nay, Mr. Shepheard, on the other hand, swears that it was a Meeting by Appointment, and that there was nothing of the Sherry-Story in the Case. My Lord, however, made use of this Suggestion at his Trial; and Sir George Jefferies Reflecting upon it to the Jury, this Paper undertakes the Excusing of One shift with Another: The Tasting of Sherry was One Reason, though not the only Reason. But we are now to Expect a True and Plain Account of the rest.  
[I was the day before this Meeting, come to Town, for two or three days, as I had done, once or twice before; having a very Near and Dear Relation lying in a very Languishing and Desperate Condition: And the Duke of Monmouth came to me, and told me, he was extremely glad I was come to Town; for my Lord Shaftsbury and some Hot men would undo us all: How so, My Lord, said I? Why (answered he) they'll certainly do some Disorderly thing or other, if Great Care be not taken, and therefore for God's sake; Use your Endeavours with your Friends to prevent any thing of this kind. He told me, there would be company at Mr. Shepherds that night, and desired me to be at home in the Evening, and he would call me, which he did: And when I came into the Room, I saw Mr. Rumsey by the Chimney, though he swears he came in after; and there were things said by some with much more Heat than judgement, which I did sufficiently Disapprove, and yet for these Things I stand Condemned: But I thank God my Part was sincere and well meant: It is, I know, inferred from hence, and was pressed to me, that I was acquainted with those Heats and Ill Designs, and did not Discover them; but this is but Misprision of Treason, at most. So I die Innocent of the Crime I stand Condemned for, etc.]  
Here's a short Account of my Lords coming twice or thrice to Town; and that he had a Dear Relation lying sick here: But whether he came upon a Visit, or upon the Business in Question, the Paper says Nothing. The Duke of Monmouth Complains to him, as above, of my Lord Shaftsbury and Other Hot Headed Men that would spoil all; this Implies my Lords being Antecedently privy to the matter in hand; for he takes the hint immediately. [How to my Lord?] (says he) without needing to Inquire either What Men, or what Business? The Answer was no more in Effect then This. There are a Company of mad Fellows, that will outrun the Constable, they will be showing themselves too soon, and make some Bedlam Attempt or other, before we are ready for'em, and then we are All ruined. So that it was not the Design itself, but (as This Paper Represents it) the rash and imprudent Manage, that was taken Check at; And now follows the Meeting at Mr. Shepherds; which this Paper calls [Company] as if it were a chance Company, not a Meeting: But Mr Shepheard speaks of it as a Set- Company: And Mr. Rumsey was likewise appointed to meet there. My Lords Contradicting Mr. Rumsey in a Circumstance without any Exception to him upon the main, looks like a tacit Admittance of the rest of his Evidence. The Paper speaks further, of [things that were said by some, with more Heat than judgement:] but neither says who spoke them, nor what the things were; but 'tis Probable they were Treason, by my Lord's Disapproval of them: And it would have been well, if his Lordship had at least told the things, though without naming the Persons. It is Remarkable, that the words are [with much more HEAT than JUDGEMENT] If it had been with much more Heat than Honesty; my Lord's Disapproval would have Reflected upon the Cause; but with much more Heat than judgement, strikes only upon the Indiscretion. The Paper thinks it hard, that My Lord should be Condemned for the things which he Disapproved, whereas my Lord was Condemned for Meeting, Consulting & Agreeing to Raise an Insurrection, etc. And it is the Law that Pronounces the Sentence: My Lords Part, it seems, was Sincere, and well meant. 'Tis a thousand pities his Lordship was not better Informed, for People under a Mistake may do the worst things in the world with Good Meaning. And then methinks [Heats and Ill Designs] are too soft a way of Expressing such- Horrible Treasons. The Paper calls it Dying Innocent of the Crime my Lord was Condemned for, and but Misprision of Treason at the most, in Concealing what he was Privy to. Here is the Knowledge of Treason Employed, in the Misprision of Treason Confessed; And there needs not much Concurrence with Traitors, to make a man Guilty of Treason. It is to be wished My Lord would have Declared, what sort of Treason it was that he was made Acquainted with; whether the Imprisoning or Deposing of the King: And by what Means and Instruments to be Executed. Once again now, and I have done.  
[As for the Sentence of Death passed upon me, I cannot but think it a very Hard One, for Nothing was sworn against me (whether true or false I will not now Examine) but some Discourses about making some Stirs. And this is not Levying War against the King, which is Treason by the Statute of Edward the Third, and not the Consulting and Discoursing about it, which was all that was Witnessed against me. But by a strange Fetch, the Design of Seizing the Guards, was Construed a Design of Killing the King; and so I was▪ in that Cast  
And now I have Truly and Sincerely told what my part was, in that; which cannot be more than a Bare Misprision; And yet I am Condemned as Guilty of a Design of Killing the King.  
Here's an Insinuation of an Unjust Sentence, upon False Evidence, though this Paper Confesses as much, on my Lords Part, as was Sworn against him. The Paper calls it [Nothing but some Discourses about making some Stirs] and those Sitrs are afterward Expounded, to be [Levying War against the King] And my Lord was Condemned for Consulting about those Stirs. These Consultations, the Court Pronounces to be Treason: My Lord Insists upon it, that they are only a Bare Misprision: And that the Design of Seizing the Guards is wrongfully Interpreted a Design of Killing the King. If this be so strange a Fetch, what was it in the House of Commons to make the Charge against my Lord Chief Justice Scroggs to be Treason?  
The Law-Part has been Learnedly, and Copiously cleared already, in certain Reflections upon This Paper, called the Antidote against Poison: The Ouvert Acts towards the Accomplishing this Treason, were abundantly made out at the Trial; and Undoubtedly That which was Good Law in the Case of my Lord Stafford holds as Good in the Case of my Lord Russel: And Sir William Jones' Opinion in this Point, will weigh certainly against the Opinion of the Author of this Paper.  
[Will any man deny (says Sir William Jones) that the Meeting and Consulting of several men together about Killing the King, and changing the Government is an Ouvert Act? Lord Staffords Trial, p. 190.]  
Here is enough said, to set forth the Inconsistencies of the Speech Spoken, and of the Paper Delivered to the Sheriffs: And the Disagreements of that Pap●r with itself in several Peremptory Denïals, and Point-Blank Confessions of the same thing. That is to say, according to the Popular Acceptation of Words Delivered with Simplicity and Candour: But then in the True Protestant Latitude of Save and Reservations; The Connexion seems to be perfectly all of a piece; And One Line serves to Expound Another; to the Readers Infinite Satisfaction, that there is Nothing Intended upon the Whole, but Fallacy and Illusion; bating only here and there a Stricture, where it Cuts upon the Government. In few words; It is a Reproach in the form of a Vindication: the Panegyrique of a Pedant, instead of the Confession of a Penitent. The Last Prayer and Agonies of a Dying Christian, Dissolved into a Flood of Calumny and Bitterness against the Church and State; and nothing but the Name, to Entitle it to the thing it Pretends to be: After so Severe and Needful a Reflection upon this Vagabond Paper, for it fills All Mouths and Places, I reckon it a Duty to Accompany my Zeal for the Public, in this Particular, with all Possible Justice and Respect to the Memory of the Dead. The Unhappy Circumstances of his Deplorable Fate duly Considered.  
That my Lords Charge was Proved, and his, Sentence according to Law, his Lordship hath acknowledged under his own Hand (whatsoever this Illnatured Paper may Pretend to the Contrary.) In one Petition to his Majesty, My Lord does [Solemnly Protest upon the Word of a Dying Man, that he never had any Intention or Thought of doing hurt to his Majesty's Sacred Person, however by Interpretation of Law 'tis imputed to him, And if his Majesty should be pleased to Execute the Rigour of the Law upon him; he hoped that God would Enable him, etc.] In a second Petition, His Lordship [Humbly and sorrowfully Confesses his having been Present at those Meetings, which he is Convinced are Unlawful, and justly Provoking to his Majesty, But being Betrayed by Ignorance and Inadvertence, he did not Decline them as he ought to have done, etc.] I have the Charity to Believe now, that really according to the Purport of these Petitions. His Lordship's Great Misfortune was rather an Error of Principle, than a Factiousness of Malice: And it is no wonder, if he were somewhat deeper Died then Ordinary, that had (but too frequently) most desperate Seducers at his Elbow. What was that Treasonous and Atheistical Libel of [Julian the Apostate] but the very Scheme of this Conspiracy, and Calculated for the Murder of the King, and the Dissolution of the State? And it was the same Poisonous Position that brought this Unhappy Lord to his Ruin.  
As to this Pernicious Paper, I make no question but my Lord Signed it, and that he made it his Own, by so Doing: But it holds so little Congruity with the State and Exigence of his Lordship's Case, that I am persuaded (under his Anxious Circumstances) he would have Signed a Blank upon the same Terms, if the same Person had Presented it: For there is not one Syllable in't that Avails him to any purpose Imaginable: It Pretends to Truth and Plainness; and yet scarce six Lines in't without a Riddle. It pretends to Discharge my Lord of the whole Indictment: And yet in several Places, either Intricates, or Confesses it. It pretends to Deliver the whole Truth of the Matter, and yet leaves out the Meetings at his Own and Mr. Hamdens' House, where the great Pinch of the Charge lay. Nay the Faction had proceeded so far to the Captivating of this Honourable Persons Judgement, that Mr. Montague's Letter to the LordTreasurer, bearing date Jan. 18. 1678. St. N. that was Read in the House of Commons, taketh Notice how much the Court of France depended upon him, for the Crossing (as he calls it) of the Court Measures. [Mr. Ruvigny's Instructions are by the Means of Will. Russel and other Discontented People to give a Great deal of Money, and cross all your Measures at Court.] But to come more particularly now to the miserable Principle that led him to his Destruction.  
Upon the Monday after my Lord's Condemnation, the Reverend Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Tillotson, gave his Lordship a pious and Friendly Visit: Expressing the Extreme Affliction as well as Compassion that he had for his present Condition: And not without Great Admiration at my Lords being Engaged in a Misfortune of that Quality: But after a little Discourse upon that Subject, the Dr. was much more troubled, to find that my Lord was not only Embarked in that Pernicious and wicked Design, but Possessed with the Principle of his Chaplains [Julian the Apostate] that Resistance was Lawful in the Case of Religion, Liberties and Properties being Invaded: whereupon the Dr. Applied himself by Argument and Counsel to the setting of his Lordship right in that Particular, with all the Freedom, Tenderness and Respect Imaginable: And not without Flattering himself at last, that he had gained his point upon my Lord's Judgement, who promised the Dr. at parting, to bethink himself seriously of what he had said.  
The next day Dr. Burnet tells the Dean, that his Discourse had wrought a very good Effect upon my Lord, and that he was now Resolved to do All that might become a man under his Circumstances, and to Discharge his Conscience both towards God and Man. Hereupon the Dean applied himself forthwith to a Person of Great Honour, with this Account of his Success, desiring that the matter might be Represented to his Majesty, which was done accordingly, (and the best Office, which in such a Case the Dr. could render to his Lordship.)  
Upon Wednesday, the Dean gave my Lord another Visit, when taking for granted, that his Lordship continued in his Late Resolution, he entertained him only with Preparatory Discourses toward the fitting of him for a better Life.  
Upon Friday Morning, the Dean Administered to my Lord the Holy Sacrament, having previously Received such Satisfaction from him, as the Occasion and the Duty Required. But afterwards, Mr. Dean finding him wavering, went his way: And about five or six in the Evening brought him a Letter, which was excellently well Accommodated and very pertinently Applied to the point in Question. The Dean Delivered the Letter to my Lord and Discoursed at large upon it, Earnestly beseeching him to Bethink himself, how much it concerned him not to leave the World under so dangerous a Mistake, but my Lord seemed much colder now, than before, the Dean however pressing him to Enter into a strict and severe Examination of himself, and so he departed, leaving the Letter in his Lordship's hand.  
The next Morning (being the Day of his Execution) the Dean waited upon my Lord again, when he found him yet cooler, and utterly Declining any Occasion of farther Discourse upon the Old Matter. Upon this, the Dr. Desisted, and Attended him afterwards, and Prayed with him on the Scaffold: Discharging himself, from first to last in All the Parts of a Churchman, and of a Friend. A True Copy both of the Letter, and of the Prayer hereafter follows,  
July 20. 1683. My Lord,  
I Was heartily glad to see your Lordship this Morning in that calm and devout temper at Receiving the Sacrament, but Peace of mind unless it be well-grounded will avail little: And because transient Discourse many times hath little effect for want of time to weigh and consider it, therefore in tender compassion of your Lordship's Case, and from all the good Will that one man can b●ar to another, I do humbly offer to your Lordship's deliberate thoughts these following Considerations concerning the Points of Resistance, if our Religion and Rights should be invaded, as your Lordship puts the Case, concerning which I understood by Dr. Burnet, that your Lordship had once received Satisfaction, and am sorry to find a change.  
First, That the Christian Religion doth plainly forbid the Resistance of Authority.  
Secondly, That though our Religion be Established by Law, (which your Lordship urges as a difference between our Case, and that of the Primitive Christians) yet in the same Law, which Establishes our Religion it is declared, That it is not Lawful upon any pretence whatsoever to take up Arms, etc. Besides, That there is a particular Law declaring the Power of the Militia to be solely in the King. And this ties the hands of Subjects, though the Law of Nature and the General Rules of Scripture h●d left us at liberty; which I believe they do not, because the Government and Peace of Humane Society could not w●ll subsist upon these Terms.  
Thirdly, Your Lordship's Opinion is contrary to the declared Doctrine of all Protestant Churches: and though some particular Persons have taught otherwise, yet they have been contradicted herein and condemned for it by the Generality of Protestants: And I beg of your Lordship to consider how it will agree with an avowed asserting of the Protestant Religion, to go contrary to the General Doctrine of the Protestants▪ My End in this is to convince Your Lordship, that You are in a very Great and Dangerous Mistake, and being so convinced, that which before was a Sin of Ignorance, will appear of a much more heinous Nature, as in Truth it is, and call for a very particular and deep Repentance; which if Your Lordship sincerely exercise upon the sight of your Error, by a Penitent Acknowledgement of it to God and Men, You will not only obtain Forgiveness of God, but prevent a mighty Scandal to the Reformed Religion. I am very loath to give Your Lordship any disquiet in the Distress You are in, which I commiserate from my heart, but am much more concerned, that You do not leave the World in a delusion and false Peace, to the hindrance of Your Eternal Happiness. I heartily pray for You, and beseech Your Lordship to believe that I am with the greatest Sincerity and Compassion in the World,  
My Lord, Your Lordship's most Faithful and Afflicted Servant, John Tillotson.  

Dr. Tillotson's Prayer upon the Scaffold with the Late LORD RUSSEL.  
O Almighty and Merciful God, with whom alone, live the Spirits of Just Men made perfect, after they are delivered from these earthly Prisons, we humbly commend the Soul of this our dear Brother into thy hands, as into the hands of a Faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; humbly beseeching thee that it may be precious in thy sight, wash it, O Lord, from all its guilt in the blood of the immaculate Lamb that was slain to take away the Sins of the World; That whatsoever Defilements it may have Contracted in the midst of this wicked World, by the lusts of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, by a sincere and unfeigned Repentance, through thy Infinite Mercy and Goodness in our Lord Jesus Christ, it may be presented pure and holy, and without spot, before thee; O Lord we humbly beseech thee to support thy Servant and stand by him in this last and great Contest, deliver him from the pains of Eternal Death, and save him, O Lord, for thy Mercies sake, and grant that all we who survive, by this, and other Instances of thy Providence, may learn our Duty to God and the King, and that by this and other like Spectacles of our Mortality, we may see how frail and uncertain our Condition is in this World, that it is all but vanity, and teach us so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly Wisdom while we live, which may bring us to Life Everlasting through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose holy Name and Words we conclude our Prayers.  
Our Father, etc.   
Having done this Right to the Truth by an Impartial Report of the Matter of Fact; And this Further Right to the Reverend Dean, to Publish the Right that he hath done to Himself in this Affair, I shall Superadd this Note, that he had nothing to do in the Paper that has made all this Noise; but to Condemn so much as he Herd of it. And in Truth it was Observed, that while my Lord and the Dean were together, they had Neither Pen, Ink, nor Paper. Now though 'tis True again, that when my Lord, and Doctror Burnet were together, there was Pen, Ink, and Paper called for; It Concludes nothing yet as to the Writing of this Paper. It is said indeed, that upon Captain richardson's speaking to Dr. Burn●t about my Lords making a Speech; he was answered by the Doctor, that My Lord only intended to speak a Few Words upon the Scaffold; And that what he had to say else, He would leave in a Paper he intended to deliver to the Sheriffs.  
There is more then enough said in Reflection upon this Scandalous Paper; that takes so much pains to possess the World that this Unhappy Execution was a Murder. There was, Effectually, a Murder in the Case. It was in the Law an Act of Justice: But it was in Him that Poyson●d this Unfortunate Gentleman with that Seditious Maxim that brought him to the Block, and that afterwards Encouraged him to persist in't: It was in Him, I say, the Basest, and the most Treacherous of Murders: And I look upon Julian, with a Respect to this Conspiracy only as the Rule to the Example, the One Directs the Rebellion; and the Other Proves it.  
The End.