THE Friars Last Farewell, OR, Saint Francis must Pack for France.  
SHOWING, How the Mass-monging Fathers were by Order of Parliament, brought from  in the Strand, by many Officers, Watchmen, and others:  
And by them put into safe custody, till the next fair wind shall blow for Paris.  
On Saturday the 26. of February. An. Dom. 1642.  
Being a doleful Dialogue between Pere Robert, and Pere Cyprian, two Lamenting Fathers.  
God send them good Shipping,  
LONDON, Printed by john Hammond. 1642.   

The Friars last Farewell, OR, St. Francis is packing for France.  
In a doleful, Dialogue between Pere Robert, and Pere Cyprian, two Distressed Fathers.  Rob. 
HOw now Frere Cyprian, how liked you your lodging to night?  Cyp. 
By Saint Francis, as men that cannot help it: Well I perceive they will make a riddance of us all by degrees; they'll leave neither head nor tail: Now they have done with the Mitre, they have a fling at us; a man may clearly see, that here will be no longer pla●e for us. We must even entreat them to give us our Trinkets and away.  Rob. 
Away sayest thou; Yea by my Cowle, and glad we may scape so, by the hope I have in our B●essed Lady, when they first came in upon us, in that unacquainted fashion, and no way pleasing to Franc●scans, bring●ng Constables, Officers and Watchmen with them, as though they had to do with Thiefs, not with Fathers; with such sad looks, and brow-bent words, I doubted what would become of me, fearing lest they would have taken my sanctified Cord from off my middle, and have hanged me in't.  Cyp. 
What then thou shouldest have gone to heaven in thy Order: had they done so, or as bad, or thou hadst had thy end by a Rope, so thy mends in thy hand: For this Parliament goes throughstitch with it; they have removed other blocks than we, they bear all down before them▪ upon my conscience I speak it, If either his Holiness, yea, or very Saint Francis himself had been there among us, they would scarce have taken them along for company.  Cyp. 
I believe it as surely as I do Purgatory, or salvation by observing Saint Francis his injunctions; we are all out of esteem here, both head and tail: we have seen our best days, I fear me in England, which now gives us up; and is grown weary of us, as is all the world besides, though I trust France will bid us welcome, as reason it hath, for sure I am, that I for my part, by the Worship ●owe unto Saint Francis, have not been unmindful of our Covent there; and have conveied over as much English gold, as any other here employed for that purpose, and can give an honest account of my Talon, as you know Frere.  Rob. 
I t●ust the same Frere.  Cyp. 
But are you of an opinion that we may bid our last Adieu to Somersethouse, and never plant Julips there again, shrift Lad●e●●n the Chapel, take the pains to go home to their husbands, nor young Gentlewomen, look over the wall into the Thames, and throw them our blessing, that may safely carry them over be it that they live on the other side, and wind against Tide, make the water boisterous.  Cyp. 
Let's think no more of that then of forsaking our holy order Frere Robert: alas, the chiefest of our friends are on the other side the Pool; hardly could we keep house, when they were all at home, we were put to it then: our resort hath lessened, and consequently our offerings, ever sin●e the sitting of this great Assembly at Westminster, we have had such watchful eyes upon us; that it was impossible but that our do must needs slack, though I never thought, that we should ever be brought to that p●sse, that  should have been to hot to hold us.  Rob 
Frere Cyprian, I liked not that great fall of part of the wall on the backside of our Mansion, Christmas last was two year, I liked it not 〈◊〉 s●y, for it ever since ran in my m●nde, and I could by no me●nes rid myself of that conceit, that i● did pre●end some ruin, r●nt or separation of the fraternity, and rather than the land would longer be troubled with us, if the gates were too little, they would give us an exit, by breaking down a main part of the wall.  Cyp. 
I presaged as much Brother by the coming of the Scots into England: S. Francis you know never affected that Nation; as who are the professed enemies of idleness and ignorance, both which are the most considerable ingredients in the composition of our regularity.  Rob. 
My nose dropped just three drops of blood: the very first day of the sitting of this Parliament: and passing from S. james to , a Hare crossed me thrice.  Cypr. 
The banishing of all the Catholics from London, and within 15. miles of the Parliament: was no sign of our long stay.  Rob. 
Nor the fall of the Hierarchiein temporals, any good token of our growth in any spirituals.  Cyp. 
When Con. and Russetta were dismissed, men I think that would have found and wrought as strong means to have kept their footing, as could be procured, when these once ●ooked b●ew, and must be content to take water: I durst never after think of laying my bones amongst the Sanctified Julips.  Rob. 
But who would have thought that they would have stooped so low as us poor men, clad in medley Linsey Wolsey, with tunnel on our heads, and though not strung, yet girt in hemp, having perhaps our wooden Knicknacks, our Crosses and bunch of Beads, with such pretty things ridiculous about us, but nothing that they can discern suspicious.  Cypr. 
Ho frere Rob. Ho, ho: They took us not for Saints for all that; he that hath an ill name is half hanged: they have heard too much of our pranks elsewhere, and in particular, what exploits some of our livery have lately acted in France, and by name how Father joseph hath lately behaved himself there, whose Woolvish attempts hath brought them clean out of conceit with our Sheep's clothing: they are contrived into so bad a belief of us, that they stick not to say, that our wills are as good, and conditions as bad, if we had an occasion as seasonable. Nay, a Gentleman told me, within these few days, walking in the Garden, that he saw the Horns through my Cowle, and that he was sure, could he but have the patience to hear Mass, he should hear the Fiend grumble, if not rear.  Rob. 
I confess Frere Cyprian, it is a difficult thing to charm men out of an opinion once took up; so that is become a Proverb, The Devil and the Friar will be honest together.  Cyp. 
Was it not pretty what one of the attendants motioned unto one of the Gentlemen of the House, that came with the unwelcome Habeas Corpus for out non-residency, and unto the two Constable's that came with him?  Rob. 
Pretty, sayest thou brother? Pretty indeed: he deserves to be cursed with Bell, Book and Candle who ever he was; and questionless our holy Patron and Saint, never besteaded us more, then by his intercession to the Virgin-Mother, to put back his levitical advice from taking effect and execution from the Gentlemen and the Constable: for surely, had we not been permitted to have laid down our habits, and to have come forth something in fashion, like other men, we should have been the Owls of wonderment unto all the birds between  and Westminster.  Cyp. 
The merry whoreson would have had us come out just as the Parliament men and Constable took us, (O sweet St. Francis author of our salvat on) we should have had more hollowing, hooping and shooting at our heels, than ever was made after Bears, Cutpurses, or Clarkenwell whores.  Rob. 
Nay worse, another wished as we●l to us as he, would have had us tied a-row in our Copes, like Galleyslaves; and then we should have carried all the Strand a breadth, and what Coach or Carosse belonging to what Nobleman soever, had chanced to have come by, he must have had the patience till one of our poor Fathers had been unlinked, or else borne Cope, Fathers, and all before him.  Cyp. 
What ever those conceited Knaves were, I believe there will be never a Friar in the world the more for them.  Rob. 
If none bore more respect unto Friars than they, for my part I would rather turn Devil then Friar: and as I am, the first thing I would do, should be to cast my frock into the nettles, and lay hold on Spade or Mattocke, whereto I must confess, I have a right able body, had I as much mind to labour as ability.  Cyp. 
A third merry companion was bold to tell me, that my holy Cowle was made like a Vintner's tunnel.  Rob. 
That fellow wished better to the Vintner then any of us, I warrant him.  Cyp. 
A fourth toll me, that I had stuff enough about my middle to have tied up all the prisoners that were to be executed this Sessions, and put myself in the number.  Rob. 
Mr. Constable requested my habit, or some part of it, to make a strainer for his wife's grains.  Cyp. 
Had the Constable's wise been there, and known the abilities of thy pendents, thou mightst have received more favour of her then of her husband.  Rob. 
That's not unlikely: for had we not ever been more beloved of women than their husbands, we had never been of that standing in the world we are; notwithstanding these hard times, I know, thanks to good. St. Francis, those devout Catholic women, and some no small ones neither, who will keep it not only from their husbands, but even from their own selves and children, to give it unto us, and think themselves happy that they have it to the same end.  Cyp. 
Whatsoever their husbands count us, seeing it cannot be remedied why let it pass: but could we get a reprieve to stay in England but one seven years, to see the towardness of the brats, I am assured that we should find the children more affectionate to us for their father's sakes: for I am confident, ever since we came to be inwardly acquainted with their mothers, we have done our best to breed them.  Rob. 
It is an especial gift given to us by Sa●nt Francis, that whithersoever we come, we propagate to the Order.  Cyp. 
But must we for France without denial?  Rob. 
But what if our entertainment be not so good there as we expect? what then? For not to flatter ourselves, even Catholics themselves are fallen three farthings in a penny of their esteem of us, howsoever some of us have handled the business.  Cyp. 
What if our entertainment shall not be to our minds? we must bring our minds to our entertainment; but if we shall find Charity and Devotion quite past recovery, and that in no sort we are likely to live upon it like ourselves; my counsel is, to alter our copy. What? if I am bound to serve St. Francis, St. Francis is bound to keep me. No penny no Pater noster. Hark, one knocks, or opens door: pray God we are not sent for to be doomed.  Rob. 
I fear me it is even so: for ever after apprehension follows sentence.   
FINIS.