made an Oath to bear true and faithful Allegiance to King Charles, and by all means to maintain his Royal Preroga tive, against the Puritans in the Parliament of England; which they would never have done, unless he had commanded or confented to the Rebellion: But obferve then what will follow; after the two Houfes at Westminster were proclaimed Rebels and Traytors by the King, they made a folemn Covenant to defend his Royal Perfon, Rights and Dignities, against all Oppolers whatfoever,and therefore by the fame Reafon he did command or confent to the War raised by the Parlia ment against himself. But did they not fay they had his Commiffion, and call themselves the King and Queen's Armies? But then, you forgot who they were that faid fo, Hell-hounds, and Blood-hounds, Fiends and Firebrands, and Bloody Devils, not to be named without Fire and Brimstone; do you think fuch are not to be believ'd, (especially when they speak for their ownAdvantage) rather than the People of God, the faithful of the Land at Westminster, who likewife, when they raifed Forces, faid, they did it for the

King and Parliament? Can any man in his Wits deny but the King is to be believed before either of these? And yet you cannot be perfwaded,but his Offer to go in Perfon to fupprefs the Rebellion, was a defign to return at the Head of 20 or 30000 Rebels to have deftroyed this Nation. That's very ftrange! but first, how fhall we believe what you fay before, (to fhew your Breeding?) Never was Bear fo unwillingly brought to the Stake, as he to declare against the Rebels, if he offered to adventure his Perfon to fupprefs them: When you made this agree in Senfe, let us know how you can fuppose the fame Perfon, the wifeft King in Chriftendom, and yet fo foolish to study his own Destruction; for who could fuffer fo much in the Ruin of this Nation as himself? For his hindering the Earl of Leicester's going into Ireland, he had much more Reafon to do fo, than the Parliament had to hinder him; and therefore you may as well conclude them guilty, as him, of the Rebellion.

That they fold or exchanged, for Arms and Ammunition, the Cloath and Provifions fent by the Parliament to H 3 the

the Proteftants in Ireland, you must either accufe the Parliament, which feiz'd upon his Arms firft, and used them against him, or prove them above the Law of Nature, (which I believe you had rather do) that commands. every Man to defend himfelf. But the Rebels in Ireland gave Letters of Mart for taking the Parliament's Ships, but freed the King's as their very good Friends. I fee you are not fuch a Wizard at Defigns as you pretend to be; for if this be the deepest Reach of your Subtilty, had you been a Senator in Rome, when Hannibal invaded Italy, and burnt all the Coantry of the Roman Dictator, you would have fpared no longer to prove him Confederate with the Enemy. But I fear I may feem as vain as your felf in repeating your Impertinencies. There is one Argument that might have ferv'd inftead of all, to convince you of Wickedness and Folly in this Bufinefs, and that is the Silence of the Charge, which (by your own Rule, ought to be taken pre confeffo) there was never any fuch thing.

2

I will not trouble my felf nor any Body with your French Legend, as be

ing too inconfiderable to deserve any ferious Notice, built only upon Relations and Hear-fays, and proved with your own Conjectures; which, how far we are to credit,from a Man of fo much, Biafs and Mistakes, any of thofe you appeal to fhall determine; to whom I fhall fay but this, that you do but acknowledge the Injuftice of the Sentence,while you ftrive to make it good: with fuch Additions; for if you had not believed it very bad, you would never have taken fo much Pains to mend it: And I hope your High Court will punish you for it, whofe Reputation your officious Indifcretion hath much impaired to no purpose: For tho' we should grant all your Additions to be true, as you would have it, it does not at all juftify the King's Death, fince he did not die in relation to any thing there objected; and all you can poffibly aim at by this pitiful Argument, is but to prove him Guilty, becaufe he was Punished; for you can never prove him punished because he was Guilty.

For your Epilogue, I have fo much Charity to believe it (being of a differentThread of Language) none of your H 4

own;

own; but either penn'd for you by your mufty Peters, or else you writ Short-hand very well to copy after the Speech of his Tongue. However you came by it, fure I am, it could come from no Body elfe; and having faid fo, I hope I fhall need fay no more; for I fhall be loath to commit the Sin of repeating any of it: But fince 'tis but a Frippery of common places of Pulpit Railing, ill put together, that pretend only to Paffion, I am content you should use them your felf, and be allowed to fay any thing with as little regard as if you wore your Privilege: Yet left you should grow fo conceited as to believe your felf, I will take Solomon's Advice, and anfwer you not in your own way of Railing or Falfhood, but in doing fome Right to Truth and the Memory of the Dead, which you have equally injured.

THE