Tell-Truth's Answer TO TELL-TROTH's LETTER To the Right Honourable the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, In Vindication of his LORDSHIP; By as downright an ENGLISHMAN as himself, Without Scandalous REFLECTIONS.  
SIR,  
I Have lately seen and perused a Letter in Print, to the Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftesbury, from one that styles himself Tom Telltruth, a downright Englishman. I must confess he gins well, and expresseth himself in very good words, to the due honour of that truly Noble Lord, as owning him to be, (as indeed he is) a stout Asserter of the Protestant Religion and Interest; and tells us, that Monarchy and the Protestant Religion do suffer, in respect of the present Designs of Papists and Common wealthsmen; but what he meant by coupling good Commonwealths-men and Papists together, I could not understand, till Reading his Letter a little farther, I quickly found and discovered that he was a Wolf in sheep's clothing; and it will be Strange if I do not find him to be a Jesuit, or one as bad, before the end of this Letter.  
Yet very honestly he in the next words tells my Lord, that Ruin and Desolation, Confusion and every evil work, will come swift upon us, (nothing more sure) if some speedy Remedy be not instantly proposed by the wisdom of the great Council of this Nation, (by that great Council) I suppose he means the Parliament; and therein he writes honestly and truly, (for I will give the Devil his due) but it is to be feared, if they do not sit speedily, it will be too late to prevent that Ruin and Desolation he truly foretelleth is coming upon us, though I believe he writes Ironically and in a jeering way.  
In the next place he comes with many words, though to little or no purpose, from 41, to the happy Restauration of the King (in which glorious work I am persuaded he was no way instrumental) for His Majesty was, thanks be to God, wonderfully restored to His Royal Throne by God's Providence, and some worthy Instruments, the Earl of Shaftesbury being one eminent in that great work.  
Then he would make a parallel between 41, to this present time, concerning the person of the late King, Church and Government, and that they were the Results of such pernicious Counsels and Designs as are now hatching by these Sons of Belial, to the present disturbance of our Church and Kingdom.  
If there were Sons of Belial, as you say, and I believe there were in 41, I mean the Jesuits and the Pope's Emissaries; as Dr. Oates, that worthy person, and ever to be esteemed, hath made appear there were, those I suppose are generally dead, gone to Purgatory, or somewhere else. But you say there are now Sons of Belial, that study all the mischief they can to King, Church, and State. I suppose you writing so confidently of it, must be well acquainted with them, and be of their Councils, and therefore you would do good service to discover them, (which I would do, did I know them) if you will not, you must give me leave to tell you in downright English, that you are either a Jesuit of the Church of Rome, or a Masked Protestant in the Church of England; for I am a truer downright Englishman, and Protestant, than I find you are.  
In the next place, he tells us, That in Forty and after, the Papists seeing our Church so well guarded with Purity of Doctrine and Faith, (that is true,) behold what Emissaries were sent out, and with what clothing to deceive: (what clothing indeed) the Puritan is the man he names, and three persons that are dead, and then tells us, that Archbishop Laud must be the first called into question, and butchered, for being a Papist, or Popishly inclined. This I deny, but must needs say, that Archbishop Laud was an Eminent Assertor of the Rights of the Church, and a true Protestant, as his Learned Books against Fisher the Jesuit do declare; (for I knew Bishop Laud I think better than you did) but by your leave Sir, as old as you are, Bishop Laud suffered for other matters, as the Articles that were against him will inform you.  
Then he comes to tell us, that the Rabble in those times cried down Evil Counsellors, their design being to bring in Popery, and destroy Liberty, (ay Liberty of the Subject) in a jeering scoffing way. Sir, know, it is our Birthright, and you are an unworthy man if you are against it, and ought never to enjoy it, but live and die a slave. And then he mentions Ship-money (a huge burden) was against Magna Charta; so it was, though but small in itself, as also all other Monopolies in those days, contrived by Ministers which were conscious of their ill deserts, to keep off the sitting of the Parliament, (which they knew would call them to account) for above Ten years; in which time had the Parliament sat, it would no doubt have supplied His Majesty with much more in a legal way, and the Subjects would have been ready and willing to have paid it. But do you not remember, you old Englishman, (as you style yourself in the latter part of your Letter) what became of those persons that kept off the King from His Parliament for so long a time? if you do not; I do: I wish we had not some such persons now adays; if we have, they must look for the same success as they had then in the end.  
A King of England in Parliament is Absolute, and as Redoubtable as any Monarch in the world; nor did ever any King that relied upon, and agreed with his Parliament, miscarry. As on the other side, when ever base Flatterers, to serve their own ends, and to secure themselves from Justice, have persuaded a Prince to slight, grow jealous of, or be estranged from Parliaments; it hath always proved of fatal Consequence to the King and Kingdom.  
Pray God bless and preserve his Majesty from all Popish Conspiracies, as he hath hitherto done, that he may more and more discover his real Friends from his pretended one's; and then his Majesty will find, that those persons, whom this Scribbler terms Metres in Clubs, at Taverns and other places, are his Majesty's best and faithfullest Friends he hath; for they meet only to enjoy the Society of one another, and to study the Preservation of his Majesty, the Protestant Religion, the Peace and Quiet of the Kingdom, against the Attempts and Plots of the Devil and the Pope, and all their Party; who still study how, and nothing more than how, Ruin and Destruction may be brought upon King and People, as this their late Hellish and Damnable Plot sufficiently and fully have discovered. Though Sir, you, to exasperate the people, and tell of 41, to put this Plot aside, say, Then comes forth a Plot full of Treason and Popery; and is there not just cause to suspect you to be concerned in it, since you writ so slightingly of it, as if there were no reality that there was this Hellish Popish Plot? But you say it came forth. So it did, blessed be God that it was discovered by Dr. Oates with others; 〈…〉 ere none of them. Your Brother Coleman and others might y●● have been living, if it had not been discovered, and we had been in Blood and Confusion before this day: What may become of us yet, I know not; for I fear the Devil and the Pope, with all their Hellish party, are still Conspiring and Plotting against the peace of our Zion; but God who hath, I hope will still preserve his Majesty and poor England from all their wicked Designs. I do not like your slighting expressions, to say it came forth; but must give you one word more concerning it: It came forth from the Devil first, from the Pope next, and thither let it return again, with all those that were Instrumental in it, and will not truly repent of it, but labour all they can to suther it.  
Then you say, The D. must needs be the Foundation of this Damnable Plot. If by your Capital D. you mean the Devil, I have already agreed with you; but if you mean by your D. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, you are a very unworthy man, and deserve to be punished: For what good Protestant, or sober man, can think the Duke of York would ever own so Damnable and Hellish a Plot, being so brave a person, and having had to his Father the best of King's Deceased, and to his Brother the best of Kings Living, (whom God grant may long Live and Reign over us.) And God preserve the Discoverers, who, as he styles them truly, have been blessed Instruments to save us at this time from the Paw of Antichrist; though I would not have them (as he jeeringly expresses) revered as Demigods; but I could wish they were better rewarded, as they well deserve, and I hope they will one day be. Then he tells of a Hurly-burly, which caused the King to Dissolve the Parliament, and to Prorogue them from time to time; but what he means by it, I know not.  
And 'tis no wonder you should fling a stone at Mr. Marvel's Grave, for any whiffling Cur will venture to beard a dead Lion: 'tis well known, that little Andrew (as you contemptibly call him) had Wit and Policy enough to silence the greatest Droll and Scribbler that ever troubled the Nation; and other Treatises that are for the good of the Nation, cannot escape your Scurrilous Reflections. And do not these Blisters on your Tongue betray the venom of your heart, and plainly show, you are no true friend to the Church of England, but rather a Jesuit, or a favourer of Popery, since you would hush us to sleep with apprehensions that there is no fear of it till our Throats are cut?  
There are several other passages in your Letter which might deserve Animadversions, but by what I have said already, I doubt not but each considerate Reader will be sufficiently informed of your design, and armed against your wheadling insinuations: and so I shall leave you to pursue your Game, (But know, in vain is the net spread in the presence of any Bird.)  
Now, Sir, I am drawing to a Conclusion, and it may be you will say its time. When I first read your Letter, I thought it not worth the while to give an Answer to it; for Solomon says, Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. Pardon me, Sir, though I express myself thus freely to you; for I assure you, I do not in the least think you to be a Fool, but one that God hath given great Parts and Abilities to, and I wish you may have grace to make a good use of them, in order to which, I shall give you a few cautions by way of advice, and I do it for your good.  
1. Be sure you print nothing for time to come to please the men of the times, and to humour them, that may be displeasing to God; for if you and I, and all men must one day give an account of every idle word, yea, of our secret thoughts and actions, than you must give an account of this you scribbling Letter, and the ends and grounds you had to make it public, and I the like for my Answer; and than it will be made appear, who aimed most at the honour of God, the peace and welfare of the Kingdom, and advancement of the Protestant Religion, you or I  
2. Print no more for time to come, but what you know to be true, else you wrong yourself and the Readers, and you must give an account for that also one day; and writ no more in a jeering way under a pretence of reality, in which you show Hypocrisy and Dissimulation, which you have done in many places in your Letter, though to no purpose at all.  
3. Fellow the Advice you give to that Noble Lord, study to do your own business, and writ no more Letters to such Honourable and worthy persons: you show great presumption and sauciness: you think you may write any thing, and to any person. Better you had an Employment in the Penny-Post-Office of carrying Letters, than writing any more.  
4. If you are now of the Church of Rome, as I think you are, come away from them to the Church of England, which is the best Church in the world for Doctrine and Discipline; and come away quickly, ●…or Antichrist will speedily fall; he hath but three horns left of ten, and one of them gins already to decline and forsake him, yea, to push at him: but if you are of the Church of England already, declare it really.  
Sir, I have done, and must assure you, that I am no affector of Compliments, and therefore shall not tell you that I am  
Your Servant, Though to my King and Country, and the Protestant Religion A faithful Subject and Sincere wellwisher.  
POSTSCRIPT.  
I Would have set my Name to this my Answer, for I am not ashamed nor afraid to own any passage in it; but you not setting your Name to your Letter, makes me forbear setting mine to my Answer.  
FINIS.