THE EARL of MELFORT's LETTER To the Presbyterian-Ministers IN SCOTLAND, Writ in his Majesty's Name upon their Address; Together with some Remarks upon it.  
The Earl of Melfort's Letter.  
Gentlemen;  
I Am commanded by his Majesty, to signify unto you his gracious acceptance of your Address, that he is well satisfied with your Loyalty expressed therein; for the which he resolves to perpetuate the favour, not only during his own Reign, but also to lay down Ways for its Continuance, and that by appointing in the next ensuing Parliament the taking off all Penal Statutes contrary to the Liberty or Toleration granted by him.  
His Majesty knows, that Enemies to Him, to You, and this Toleration, will be using all Endeavours to infringe the same; but as ever the Happiness of his Subjects Standing in Liberty of Conscience, and the Security of their Properties (next the Glory of God) hath been his Majesty's great end, so he intends to continue, if he have all suitable Encouragement and Concurrence from you in your Doctrine and Practice; and therefore as he hath taken away the Protestant Penal Statutes lying on you, and herein has walked contrary not only to other Catholic Kings, but also in a way different from Protestant Kings who have gone before him, whose Maxim was to undo you, by Fining, Confining, and taking away your Estates, and to harrass you in your Persons, Liberties and Privileges; so he expects a thankful acknowledgement from you, by making your Doctrine tend, to cause all his Subjects to walk obediently, and by your Practice walking so as shall be most pleasing to his Majesty, and the concurring with him for the removing these Penal Statutes: and he further expects that you continue your Prayers to God for his long and happy Reign, and for all Blessings on his Person and Government; and likewise that you look well to your Doctrine, and that your Example be influential: all these are his Majesty's Commands.  
Sic subs. MELFORT.   

REMARKS.  
THe Secretary hand is known to all the Writing Masters of the Town; but here is an Essay of the Secretary's Style for the Masters of our Language: This is an Age of Improvements, and Men that come very young into Employments, make commonly a great progress; therefore common things are not to be expected here: it is true, some Roughnesses in the Style seem to intimate that the Writer could turn his Conscience more easily than he can do his Pen, and that the one is a little stiffer and less compliant than the other. He tells the Addressers, that His Majesty is well satisfied with their Loyalty contained in their Address; for the which he resolves to perpetuate the favour. It appears that the Secretary Stile and the Notary Style come nearer one another than was generally believed: For the which here, & infringe the same afterwards, are beauties borrowed from the Notary Stile: the foresaid is not much courser. The King's perpetuating the Favour is no easy thing, unless he could first perpetuate himself. Now though his Majesty's Fame will be certainly immortal, yet to our great Regret his Person is mortal; so it is hard to conceive, how this perpetuity should be settled.  
The Method here proposed is a new Figure of the Secretary Stile: which is the Appointing in the next ensuing Parliament the taking off all Penal Laws. All former Secretaries used the modest Words of proposing or recommending; but he who in a former Essay of this Style, told us of his Majesty's Absolute Power, to which all the Subjects are to obey without reserve, furnishes us now with this new term of the King's appointing what shall be done in Parliament. But what if after all, the Parliament proves so stubborn, as not to comply with this Appointment, I am afraid than the Perpetuity will be of a shrort continuance. He in the next place, mentions the Liberty or Toleration granted by the King. Liberty is not so hard a Word, but that it might be understood without this Explanation or Toleration, unless the Secretary Style either approaches to the Notary Style in some nauseous Repetitions, or that he would intimate by this, that all the Liberty that is left the Subjects is comprehended in this Toleration. And indeed, after Absolute Power was once asserted, it was never fit to name Liberty without some restriction. After this comes a stately Period, The Enemies to him, to you, and to this Toleration. Yet I should be sorry if it were true; for I hope there are many Enemies to this Toleration, who are neither Enemies to the King, nor to these Addressers; and that on the contrary they are Enemies to it, because they are the best Friends that both the King and the People have. It is now no secret, that tho' both the Prince and Princess of Orange are great Enemies to Persecution, and in particular to all Rigour against the Presbyterians, yet they are not satisfied with the way in which this Toleration is granted. But the reckoning of them as Enemies either to the King or the People, is one of the Figures of this Style, that will hardly pass: and some will not stick to say, that the Writer of this Letter, has with this dash of his Pen, declared more Men Enemies to the King, than ever he will be able to make Friends to him. He tells them next, that these Enemies will be using all endeavours to infringe the same. This is also a strong Expression. We know the use of the Noun Infraction, but Infringe is borrowed from the Notaries; yet the plain sense of this seems to be, that those Enemies will disturb the Meetings, of which I do not hear any of them have the least thought, yet by a secret Figure of the Secretary Stile, perhaps this belongs to all those who either think that the King cannot do it by Law, or that will not give their Vote to confirm it in Parliament: but I am not so well acquainted with all the Mysteries of this Style, as to know its full depth.  
There comes next a long period of 50 words, for I was at the pains to count them all, which seemed a little too prolix for so short a letter, especially in one that writes after the French pattern. But as ever the Happiness of his Subjects, Standing in Liberty of Conscience, and the Security of their Properties, next the Glory of God, hath been his Majesty's great End; So he Intends to continue, if he have all suitable Encouragement and Concurrence from you, in your Doctrine and Practice. The putting ever at the beginning of the Period, and at so great a Distance from that to which it belongs, is a new beauty of Style. And the Standing of this Happiness, makes me reflect on that which I hear a Scotch Preacher delivered in a Sermon, that he doubted this Liberty would prove but like a Standing Drink. The King's receiving suitable Encouragement from his Subjects, agrees ill with the height of Style that went before, of appointing what the Parliament must do. King's receive returns of Duty and Obedience from their Subjects; but hitherto Encouragement was a word used among Equals: the applying it to the King, is a new figure. A man not versed in the Secretary Stile would have expressed this matter thus. His Majesty has ever made the Happiness of his Subjects, which consists in Liberty of Conscience, and the Security of Property, his great end, next to the Glory of God: and he intends to do so still, if he receives all suitable returns from you in your Doctrine and practice. I have marked this the more particularly, to make the difference between the Common and the Secretary Style the more sensible. But what need is there of the Concurrence of the Addressers, with the King, if he appoints the next Parliament to take off all the Penal Laws. Must we likewise believe that His Majesty's Zeal for the Happiness of his Subjects, depends on the Behaviour of These Addressers: and on the Encouragement that he receives from them, so that he will not continue it, unless they Encourage him in it. This is but an Incertain tenure, and not like to be perpetual. But after all the Secretary Stile is not the Royal Style, so notwithstanding this beautiful Period, we hope our Happiness is more steady, than to turn upon the Encouraging of a few Men: otherwise if it is a standing Happiness yet it is a very tottering one. The Protestant Penal Statutes, is another of his Elegancies: for since all the Penal Laws as well those against Papists, as those against Dissenters, were made by Protestant Parliaments, one does not see how fitly this Epithet comes in here; another would have worded this, thus, the Penal Statutes made against Protestants. But the new Style has figures peculiar to itself, that pass in the Common Style for Improprieties.  
This Noble Lord is not contented to raise His Majesty's Glory above all other Catholic Kings, in this grant of Liberty or Toleration, in which there is no competition to be made; for though the Most Christian King, who is the Eldest son of that Church, has indeed executed her Orders in their full extent of severity, yet His Majesty, who is but the Cadet in that Church's Catalogue of honour, it seems does not think that he is yet so much beholding to his Mother as to gratify her by the Destruction of his People: yet I say, as if this were too little, the King's Glory is here carried farther, even above the Protestant Kings, who have gone before him: whose Maxim was to undo you, by Fining, Confining and taking away your Estates, and to harrass you in your Persons, Liberties and Privileges. Here is an honour that is done the King's Ancestors by one of his Secretaries, which is indeed new, and of his own Invention: the Protestant Kings can be no other than the King's Brother, his Father, and his Grand father. King's shut out Q. Elisabeth, who might have been brought in if the more general term of Crowned heads had been made use of; but as the Writer has ordered it, the satire falls singly on the King's Progenitors: for the Papers that were found in the Strong Box, will go near to put the late King out of the list of Protestant Kings: so that this Reproach lies wholly on the King's Father and his Grandfather. It is a little surprising, after all the Eloquence that has been Employed to raise the Character of the late Martyr to so high a pitch, that one of his Sons Secretaries should set it under his hand in a letter that he pretends is written by the King's Commands, that he made it a Maxim to undo his People. The Writer of this Letter should have avoided the mentioning of fines, since it is not so long, since both He and his Brother valued themselves on a point that they carried in the Council of Scotland, that Husbands should be fined for their Wives not going to Church, though it was not founded on any Law. And of all Men living he ought to be the last that should speak of the taking away Estates; who got a very fair one during the present Reign, by an Act of Parliament, that Attainted a Gentleman in a Method as new as his Style is; Upon this ground, that two Privy Counsellors declared, they believed him guilty. He will hardly find among all the Maxims of those Protestant Persecuting Kings any one that will Justify this.  
It seems the New Style is not very Copious in Words, since Doctrine is three times repeated in so short a Letter: He tells them, that their Doctrine must tend to cause all the subjects to walk obediently; now by obediently in this Style, is to obey the Absolute Power Without reserve; for to obey according to Law, would pass now for a Crime: this being then his meaning, it is probable that the Encouragements which are necessary to make His Majesty continue the happiness of his Subjects, will not be so very great, as to Merit the perpetuating this favour. There is with this a heavy charge laid upon them as to their practice; that it must be such as shall be most pleasing to His Majesty; for certainly that can only be by their turning Papists: since a Prince that is so zealous for his Religion, as His Majesty is, cannot be so well pleased with any other thing as with this. Their concurring with the King to remove the Penal Laws, comes over again; for though Repetitions are Impertinencies in the Common Style, they are Flowers in the new one.  
In Conclusion, he tells them, that the King expects, that they will continue their prayers for him; yet this does not agree too well with a Catholic Zeal; for the prayers of Damned Heretics cannot be worth the ask; for the third time he tells them to look well to their Doctrine: now this is a little ambiguous; for it may either signify, that they should study the Controversies well, so as to be able to defend their Doctrine solidly, or that they should so mince it, that nothing may fall from them in their Sermons against Popery; this will be indeed a looking to their Doctrine; but I do not know whether it will be thought a looking well to it or not. He adds, that their Example be Influential: I confess this hard new Word frighted me: I suppose the meaning of it is, that their practice may be such as that it may have an Influence on others: yet there are both good and bad Influences, a good Influence will be the animating the people to a Zeal for their Religion; and a bad one will be the slackening and sofning of that Zeal. A little more Clearness here had not been amiss.  
As for the last Words of this Letter; that all these are his Majesty's Commands; it is very hard for me to bring myself to believe them. For certainly he has more Piety for the Memory of the late Martyr, and more regard both to himself, to his children, and to his people, than to have ever given any such commands.  
In order to the communicating this Piece of Elegance to the World, I wish the Translating it into French were recommended to Mr. d'Albeville: that it may appear whether the Secretary Stile will look better in his Irish French, than it does now in the Scotch English of him who penned it.  
FINIS.