A brief history of the times, &c. ...

TO Posterity.

THese Papers are the True History, and bear the Lively Image of the Lewd Times they were Writ∣ten in, and, Consequently, not for the Palate of the Present Age: For a Wicked Generation will no more bear Truth, in a Book, than an Ill-favour'd Wo∣man will bear it, in her Picture, or in her Looking-Glass: And though the Fault be Manifestly in the Face, or in the People; 'tis the Poor Innocent Painter, that is to be Curs'd for't, and the Glass Broken; because her Ladyships Nose stands awry, perhaps, or that the Manners of the Age will not Endure the Light. This is the very State of the Case, and the Ground of the Quarrel, betwixt the World and These Dialogues. The Figures are drawn from the Life; the Matter of Fact, is Evident, and Certain; the Doctrine, Orthodox; and, upon the Whole; the Office it self, and the Application of it, have had many Publique, and Honourable Testimonies, for an Honest, and a Neces∣sary Duty. But Men, I perceive, do not allways know their Own Minds; for after I had stood the Vttermost Malice of the Common Enemies of the Church, and State, for allmost Four Years together, during the Course of These Papers; and without the least Change of Mind, Resolu∣tion, Countenance, or so much as of Pretence: After I had, I say, born all manner of Indignities for the sake of Both; (divers Practices of Perjury and Subornation a∣gainst me, over and above) and all This, purely for

the Love of Cemmon Iustice, and out of a Sense of what I owe to my Prince, and Country; I found my self in February last was Two Year, to my Great Admiration, Deliver'd over to New Tormentors; and I have been Treated at such a Rate, by Another sort of People, that the Venom, and the Sc••rrility, the Rage, and the Slan∣der of my Profess'd Adversaries, was but a Flea-Biting, to the Wounds, and the Reproaches that I have suffer'd ever since, from several of my Pretending Friends.

For these Reasons, (and More) I have made Choice to Address my Self, and my Matters to Posterity, in This Appeal, from the Iniquity, and Injustice of a Faction of the Last Edition. Not as if the World were likely to Mend; or the People that come After us, to be One jot Wiser, Iuster, Honester, or Better-Natur'd, than Those that went Before them: But All Passions Sleep in the Grave; and as there's no Place for Envy, Calumny, Par∣tiality, or Imposture, on the One hand, so there's as lit∣tle room for Corrupt Interest, Mercenary Design, or Servile Adulation, on the Other, The Dead do not Bite, they say, and the Living, (unless they be Hagg-Wolves) will not Bite the Dead. People are well enough pleas'd to see [Abuses Stript, and Whipt,] (as George Withers has it) provided that they be Lash'd upon Other-Folks Shoul∣ders. Now this can never fall out, where the Parable, or the Embleme, is of One Season, and the Moral, of A∣nother: For in the One Case, the Painter come to Me; and in the Other, I go to the Painter. 'Tis much as in a Nusance; No body is to lay a Dunghill just under My Nose; but if I'le Carry My Nose to Another mans Dung∣hill, I may thank my self. Now 'tis quite another busi∣ness, where the Man, and the Satyr are both of a Time: For the Guilty are Naturally Suspicious; and He that's Conscious, will be apt to say to himself, [This Will, or That Tom, Points at Me.] A Character, in This Case, Shoots Hail-Shot, and Strikes a great many more than ever the Marks-man, either Aim'd at, or Dreamt of.

There is a great deal of Difference, I know, betwixt the Whipping of the Vice, and of the Man; and betwixt the Whipping of the Vice for the Mans sake, and the Whip∣ping of the Man, for the sake of the Vice. But be it as it will; 'tis Nonsense to Imagine, that a Man draws a Figure in the Air, and Means No body; or that he had not some One Man, more in his Thought then Another, toward the Instructing, or the Finishing of the Piece. Wickedness, and Knavery can never be Drawn To the Life; but From the Life: And the most Genuine Ima∣ges that we have of Virtue, and Vice; Wisdom, and Folly, are Gather'd, and Wrought, from the Practices, and Habits of Humane Life. This sort of Essay, is no more then Nature, taken in Short-hand; and He that Treats of Good and Evil, does but Common-Place Mankind; onely the Difference is, that the Same Writings that are Cen∣sur'd for the most Virulent Libels, (how True soever) in One Age; Pass, many times, for the most Excellent, and Profitable of Morals, in Another. Plain-dealing Writers, Meet with the Fate commonly, of Publique-Spirited Pro∣jectors, and Ruine Themselves, for the Good of their Successors: And therefore, a Frank, Clear-minded Man, that stands Condemn'd to the Mortification of Rubbing-out his days in a False, Daubing, Narrow-hearted World, cannot do better, then to withdraw his Effects, from a∣mong Parasites, and Sharpers; and to Deposite the Care of his Memory, and Good Name, in the hands of those that are yet Vnborn.

These are My very Circumstances. My Iudges, are Parties; and, as the Case stands, both Witnesses, and Iury, in a kind of Combination against me. Whither should I Fly now, from the Tyranny of This Passion, and Prejudice, for Relief, and Protection, but to Those Times, when the Biass of This Controversy shall be taken off; The Intrigue, and Interest of it, Extinguish'd, and All the Present Litigants, on Both sides, laid to Sleep? Especially, since the Cause it self, and the Merits of it,

wi••l, most Infallibly, come ••hole to the Next Age: For my Charge, and Every Article of it, being Founded up∣on Those very Papers that I do here Transmit to After-Times, for my Defence; the Fact lies Open to All men; and Done, or Not Done, is the Question: Wherein, Eve∣ry Soul that can Reade, may Satisfy himself.

I have not the Vanity all this while, to Contend, with so much Formality of Pomp, and Zeal, for the Single Cre∣dit of the Observator, or of his Trifling Papers: But so it is, that without Ostentation, the Honour of the Govern∣ment, and of All the Kings Loyal Subjects; The Light, the Authority, the Tradition, and the Faithfull Memorials of Truth it self, (as to This Point) are not a little Con∣cern'd in the Issue of This Cause. For, with All Defe∣rence to the Works of many Abler Pens, that have As∣serted the Same Interest, I may yet, with Modesty Affirm, that This is the Only Weekly Paper, that has Stood at Mark now, for almost Six Years together, without so much as One Discontinuance. And to what End, but to En∣counter Seditious, and Republican Positions; Scandalous Shams, and Defamatory Imposturer, so soon as ever they took Air; And to set the People Right, in the Truth, and Reason of Matters? And this has been done with so much Care, and Effect, that the most Shameless of my Enemies, could never lay a Finger yet, upon any One Falsity of Fact, or Errour of Doctrine, in the Whole Train of These Observators; and all the Bussle about them, has been only General Hear-say, and Clamour. Now upon the Credit of These Writings, depends, in a Great Mea∣sure, the Credit of the History of These Times; to the Ex∣treme Hazzard of Misleading After-Ages; when they shall find, on the One hand, so many Deposing, Disin∣her••••ing, Excluding, and Impeaching Nemine Contradi∣cente's; So many Forsworn Narratives; So many Thou∣sand of Treasonous, and Slanderous Libels; All, Prin∣ted, Published, and Recommended, under a Masque of Authority: and on the Other hand, little more then This

Miserable Paper, to Oppose them? What will Future Times say of This Government, and of This Nation, when they shall Reade of a Prince in a Plot against his Sove∣reign, and his Brother? A Queen, and a Wife, in the Same Plot against her Husband? Nay, of a King in a Plot Against Himself; and Subjects in a Conspiracy to Mur∣der their Prince, upon an Instinct, and Principle of Reli∣gion? What will Posterity Think, I say, when they shall find All These Diabolical Calumnies Confirm'd, by so many Pestilent Votes, Narratives, News'es, and Pam∣phlets, with the Solemnity too, of Parliamentary Testimo∣nialls, and Imprimaturs? What will they Think, I say, when they shall find Dr. OTES, Capt. BEDLOE, Capt. DANGERFIELD, Stephen DVGDALE Esq with a Hundred Worthies more of the Same Batch, Canoniz'd for Saints, forsooth, and the SAVIOVRS of the Nation? So many Mediations for Pardon, and Preferment, for e'm: So many Pulpits, and Tribunals, Trouping along for Com∣pany, with Their Hosanna's too? What shall Charity it self be able to say, to This Cloud of Authorities, and Cer∣tificates? to This Harmony of Lies, and Defamations, when they shall see so Black a Story pass Current, with∣out either Contradiction, or Controll? As if the Brains of a whole Nation had been Turn'd in their Heads like a Pancake; Conscience fall'n asleep; Truth Struck Dumb; Humane R ason Degenerated into Brutality, and not One man of a Thousand, that had the Heart to stand up for Religion, or Iustice. The Next Generation would have taken This History, for Gospel, if some body or o∣ther had not put in, to shew the World, that These their Celebrated Saviours, were Devils Incarnate; Their Pretended Plot, Supported by Subornation, and Perjury; Their Evidence-CAPTAINS, DOCTORS, & 'SQVIRES, only so many Pick-pockets, Cheats, and Knights of the Post, Rak'd together: The Refuse of Pillories and Iayls; the Scandal of Christianity, and the Shame of Mankind.

And now, Gentlemen of the Next Age, to whom These Presents shall come: Here's the Whole Matter laid before ye, in These Papers; the History of the Times; the Merits of the Cause; the Reason of the Points in Question, De∣bated Pro and Con; the Truth of Things, Separated from Falshood, and Imposture; the Frauds of a Republican Fac∣tion Detected; Their Methods, and Designs laid Open, and the Malice of them Defeated; the People Caution'd, and Instructed, both in their Interest, and in their Duty; for fear of Mistaking their Enemies, for their Friends; and their Friends for their Enemies. This has been my Bus'ness: And whether or no I have Discharg'd all these Offices, Truly, Candidly, Faithfully, Soberly, and in One word, as a Good Christian, a Loyal Subject, an Honest Man, and a Hearty Lover of his Country, Ought to do; be You the Iudges. 'Tis True, I have been Ar∣raign'd, by Common Fame, of Levity, Disguise, Hypo∣crisy, Double-Dealing Halting betwixt Two Opinions; In∣consistency with my self, and by the force of Credulity, Ca∣lumny, and Practice, Ground, as it were, betwixt Two Millstones.

From April. 1681, to the Death of the Late Blessed King, I was Worry'd by Common-Wealthe-men, and Their Accomplices; but with the Wonderfull Kindness and Esteem, of All the Profess'd Friends of the King, the Monarchy, and the Church, to Ballance the Outrages of That Aversion. I was ever an Infidel, as to the Plot; and made, Consequently, a Popish Instrument, at least, to Downright Papists; A Ridiculer of the Kings Wit∣nesses, and (in the Style of Those Days) of the Wisdom of the Nation. And This Entertainment, of Good, and Evil, was not without some Colour of Reason neither, on Both sides: For the Republicans made Good the very Worst of my Surmises, and Fore-bodings; They never fail'd of Doing, what I said they were About to do; and I am the Only Man, perhaps, that, in a Tract of Eight and Forty Years Experience, they Never Deceiv'd: But I had

now, little more to do, then to look Behind me, to know what was to Come. For there was Nothing New, in the very Phrase, Air, and Course of Proceedings, more then the Sublimating of the Old way of Calumniation, and Hypocrisy, into a Barefac'd, an Open, and a True-Protestant Perjury; and where the Witnesses Bluder'd, or happen'd to Interfere; whether with One Another, or with Themselves, they were either brought-off by the Charity of a Well-Affected Comment, or otherwise, there were Inferences drawn from the Principles of the Reli∣gion, to the Proof of the Fact; and a [PRIEST,] or a [PAPIST] was taken for Synonymous, with a CONSPI∣RATOR, or a TRAYTOR.

After I had finish'd my Two First Stages, with an Vni∣versal Hatred on the One side, and Approbation, on the Other: (For whatsoever Mischiev'd the One, must needs do the Other a Service:) It pleas'd God to call Charles the Second to Himself, and Iames the Second (whom God long preserve) to the Crown: Which was in Fe∣bruary 1684, where I Begin This Third Volume; and from Whence, I am to Date the Hard, the Vnequal, (or what if I had said?) the Unjust Usage, I have met withall, from That Day, to This: But the TIME, bare∣ly, without Other Circumstances, will signify little to the Enforming of Posterity, in the True State of This Matter; and therefore I shall in a very Few Words, lay Open the Secret Springs, and Motions, that led to This Vnexpected Change.

The Popish Plot was made a Cover to a Republican Con∣spiracy; which, tho it Began in a Farce, was to be Con∣cluded in a Tragedy. The Way was, First, to make Po∣pery a Bug-bear to the People; and Then, where they could not get Oaths, to make any man a Statutable Pa∣pist, and to Swoop him into Otes'es Plot; they had a Device, to bring him into the Toyl, under the Latitude of [a Reputed Papist,] or [Popishly-Affected,] which In∣volv'd the Members of Both Churches, alike; and we

had hardly any Discriminating Mark left us, of a Good Christian, even from an Infidel, (or Worst) then the Test of Otes'es Narrative, and the Belief of it; to the very Black-Bills, and Mustard-Balls. The Project was so Plausible, and went down so Glib, (though ne∣ver such Sotts as the Tools that Witness'd it!) that when the King's Life, and the Protestant Religion, were said to be at Stake; He was no longer a Son of the Church of England, that Oppos'd it; and to be a Friend to the Plot, was to be a Friend to Caesar. I am Asham'd to Reflect, or so much as to Think upon, the Inconsiderate Mistakes, the Gross Oversights, the Glozing Complyances, and the Vngovernable Madness of That Season: But up∣on the whole Story, the Application will be This: that True, or False; Credible, or Incredible; Possible, or Im∣possible; It comes all to a Case, where the Multitude are taken Captive in their Imaginations, and have no longer any other Rule, Measure, Will, or Liking, then what they draw from the Dictate of their Leaders. This was the Pretext, that brought Charles the First to the Scaf∣fold, and that was, likewise, in a Fair way of bringing his Late Sacred Majesty to the Same End. Now Com∣puting with my self, how much more Popular, and Dangerous, the Same Pretext would be, under a Prince, in Communion with the Church of Rome; then it was in the days of his Two Royal Predecessours; Upon the Crisis of That Great Revolution, I Chang'd the Biass of my Papers a little, and did what I could, to Obviate the Hazzards, and Distempers, that (I perceive, by This Time) I had but too much Reason to Fear. In the Two Former Parts of These Dialogues, I thought is Rea∣sonable to Caution a sort of Vnwary, Short-sighted, Well-Meaning Men, against the Snares, and Practices of the Common Enemy; and in this Third Volume, I Judg'd it no Less Re••sonable, to give the Same People the Same Caution over again: but with This Additional Conside∣ration, that they should have a care of Themselves too,

as well as their Adversaries: For Bigottry is every jot as Dangerous, as Luke-warmness; and to be Over-Righ∣teous, (according to the Text) on the One side, is All-out as Bad, as to be Over-Scrupulous, on the Other; and much the Fiercer Evil of the Two. Zeal must be Bounded by Knowledge: Nay, it must be Guided by it; for it is Knowledge that leads us to Truth; and we are never Right, but when they do, All Three Meet upon the Same Point. Short of it; Beyond, or on Ei∣ther side of it, are onely such or such Degrees, more, or less, of Folly, and Error. A man may be too Zealous For a Good Thing, as well as Against it; when That Zeal has more in it of Heat, then of Light. They that pretend to Christianity, and call for Fire from Heaven, even in the Case of Religion it self, do not know of what Spirit they are. In One word, All Extremes are Stark Naught, both in Divinity, and in Reason; and One Ill Circumstance, is Sufficient, to Destroy the Merit, and to Blast the Glory, of the most Honourable Vndertaking, and Pretence. A man may Cut the Throat of his Own Religion, by Contending for't. How many Men have we seen to Set-up, and pass for Patriots, in Common Fame, and Reputation, that, in the Sight of God, and in the Courts both of Law, and Conscience, have been found no betrer then Arrant Traitors? This is no more then to say, that we are to Govern All our Actions, with a respect to Persons, Customs, Laws, Times, Places, Du∣ty, Good Manners, Proportion, Measure, and Discretion. 'Tis Possible, that a man may Forfeit One Privilege, or Title, by Invading Another; and Lose what he has Already, by Grasping at more then belongs to him. To say Nothing of the Imprudence of the Weaker Provoking the Stronger; the Vnwarrantableness of Subjects Step∣ping out of their Province, to Intermeddle in Matters of State: the Sin, as well as the Scandal, of Irreverent, and Contemptuous Innuendo's. The Impotency of an Intemperate Ardour of Contention; the Affectation of Po∣pular

Applause, in Setting-up for the Head of a Party, &c. These, and a Hundred other Difficulties came into my Head, upon This Occasion; and I was Heartily afraid, what might come on't, if the Wisdom of the Serpent should not Accompany the Innocence of the Dove: for there goes more then Greek and Latin, to the making of a Thorough-Wise Man; and if States men and Di∣vines, would but Respectively Attend to their Proper Functions, they would e'en find as much work as they could turn their Hands to, in their Own Trade. And then, the Better, the Worse; when the Burning Intention of Holiness makes People forget the Indispensable Alle∣geance of a Civil Duty. But to come now to the Point: I was thus thinking within my self.

If the bare Name, and Fancy of Popery, had the Power to Destroy One Imperial, Protestant Prince, and to Endanger Another; together with the very Founda∣tions, both of Church, and State, in Three Kingdoms; and without any Other Aid to the Doing of it, then the Artificial Manage of the Imposture: What will not the Same Cheat over again, (under Our Circumstances) be able to bring about; if any Vnwary Zelots among our selves, should chance to Ioyn in the Same Fears, and Iealousies, and give Credit to the Conspiracy! We have the Word of a Prince, of Faith, and Honour, for our Security: A Prince of Grace, and Clemency: A Prince of Power, Iustice, and Resolution; and it will be our Own Fault, if we fail of our Own Desires, and Wishes. Diffi∣dence in the Case, is both an Ingratitude, and a Provo∣cation; Or if we canot avoid Beeing Distrustfull, 'tis Extremely Vain yet, Foolish, and Extravagant, to Talk on't; for we do not only Betray our Selves, but Create Suspicions in Others; and where Subjects are the Ag∣gressors, 'tis Time for Princes to look about them. Inso∣much, that 'tis Base, to Suspect; Foolish to Discover our selves; and Bootless, to Struggle, where we are Sure to be Worsted. The Honour of Princes is to be kept

Religiously Sacred, in Thought, Word, and Deed: And however the Law may Mince the Matter, a man may as well, (in Conscience) Defame his Prince, in words at length, as by a Glance. If a man Preaches upon This Text, All Mouths are presently Open upon him, with a [What? Shan't we Defend our Religion?] I Answer, Yes, Vndoubtedly. He that upon Good Grounds finds himself in Possession of the Truth, ought rather to Dye, then Relinquish it: Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Relations, Acquaintances, Life, and Estate, are All Nothing to't, where they fall in Competition. But then the Defence must be Apostolical, Primitive, and Chri∣stian, without Noise, Tumult or Force: There must be no Drawing of Swords in the Case; No, not so much as any Grumbling, Calumniating, or Repining, Towards it: No Cutting of Ears off; No Military Executions: For to Trouble Governments under That Pretext, is to Renounce the Doctrine of Christianity, and Example of our Blessed Saviour Himself. What's the Difference, betwixt Actu∣al Violence, and Scandalous, Provoking Words, and Practi∣ces that Leade to't? any more, then as they are Several Links of the Same Chain? 'Tis the Heart, sets the Tongue at Work; The Tongue, the Hands: And 'tis the Devil Himself, that blows the Coal of Sedition, into a Blaze of Religion. How often have I Talk'd, and Turn'd These Thoughts, and Discourses over and over, upon Occasion of Considering the State of our Affairs! Why These Animosities, say I, among Christians, upon the Subject of Religion, in so Notorious a Contradiction to the Faith that we Profess? As if the Salvation of a No∣minal Protestant, depended upon the Damnation of a Pa∣pist. Neither are We to Stand, or to Fall, upon Their Bottom, nor They upon Ours; but Evesy Man to his Own Master. Cannot I Maintain my Own Religion, without Waging War against Anothers? There's room enough, upon the Points wherein we Agree; and upon the To∣pique of Good Life, and Manners, for the Christian, and

Charitable Exercise of Holy Duties. And as to the Points that are in Controversy, we may Deliver and Assert, our Own Perswasion, without Lashing out into Invectives a∣gainst People of a Differing Tast. That Bitterness of Spirit, does not become the Disciples of our Blessed Lord. Beside that the Multitude are Prone enough to Faction, of Themselves▪ without Incentives to't; and need no Encouragement, or Example, to Transport them into Distempers. Nay, it is a Matter of Dangerous Conse∣quence, to have them Wonted,, or so much as Permit∣ted, to Rail at Things that they do not Vnderstand: For it puts them in Possession of a most Pernicious Liberty; which will take the Same Freedom, in State, that it does in Religion; when they are once set a gog, by Thi•• Itch of Meddling, upon Controversy, and Brawl, without any Sense of the Truth, and Reason of Things. Let the Doctors Sport Themselves like the L••viathan, in the Depths, and Subtleties of the Schools; The Simplicity of the Gospel, takes no Delight in High Flights and Figures: Neither are the Common People, Proper Iudges of Ab∣struse, and Mysterious Points. Their Province is Reaso∣nable Resignation, and Dutyfull Obedience; without ta∣king upon them the Office of the Chair. Their Bus'ness is the Plain Truth of Things; and not to trouble their Heads about the Cracking of Controversies that are too Hard for their Teeth. 'Tis a kind of a Protestant Im∣plicit Faith, to Assent to they know not what; and I take an Vnknown Meaning, to be Every jot as Bad, as an Vn∣known Tongue. There can be no Edification, without a Due Vnderstanding of the Matter Propounded. And it is much about the Same Thing too, in Religion, as it is in Government: I find Little, or No Difference, upon the Parity of the Reason, betwixt Haranguing against Popery at Cripplegate, (for the purpose) and against Arbitrary Power at Gu••••ohall. The Reforming Porters, and Car-men of One and Forty, understood Privileges of Parliament, Every jot as well as they did the Right of

the Bishops Uotes. In fine; This is a way to Trans∣port People, not to Enform them; and to make a Par∣ty, without any Prospect, of Clearing, or Establishing a Truth.

With These Contemplations, and Precautions, about me, and, not without Divers Previous Discourses, and Deliberations, upon the Sober Apprehensions I had, of the Hazzard of a Mistaken Zeal, on That Notable Change, and Conjuncture of Affairs: I Proceeded to This Third, and Concluding Part of my Observations. I found, that the Church of England, could not, either in Honour, Rea∣son, or Prudence, Doubt of his Majesties Goodness, Iu∣stice, and Protection, and Consequently of her own Safety; nor, in Truth, run any Risque at all, but by the Forfei∣ture of That Loyalty, to all manner of Purposes, which she has ever Practic'd, and Profess'd. I Consider'd (as I ought to do) the Mighty Work of Divine Providence, in the Disposition of the Crown; and the Fatality of any Gross Miscarriage, in the Matter of Reverence, and Duty, on the Part of the Subject. I had in my Thoughts, a Thou∣sand Difficulties, what the Heats of Some, the Ignorance of Others; the Feuds, and the Piques of Mutineers, as well as of Vnthinking Zelots, might probably bring upon us, without Singular Care, and Moderation, toward the Preventing of Mischief. But the Thing I fear'd above all others, was the Imposture of Wolves dress'd up in Sheeps Clothing; and least the Common Enemies of our Peace, and Wellfare, a Sort of People among our selves, that stick neither to Canon, nor Rubrique, should cast out a Bone betwixt his Majesty, and the Loyal Subjects of his Blessed Father, and Brother, and no Less of his ROYAL SELF, and Cry, [The Church of England did it:] As if so many Rogues in Red Coats, should Robb the Kings Chappel, and Cry, [the Guards did it.] Upon this Agitation of Matters, I concluded within my self, that This was the Time, for the Kings Reformed Subjects of the Establish'd Church of England, to make Good the

Character of their Integrity, and the Allegiance of their Profession: and without Complementing-away, Articles of Faith, to Ioyn with the Roman Catholiques in a Har∣mony of Reverence to their Prince, as Fellow-Subjects to the same Master. For the Scandal is not to be Born; not to be Defended; and never to be Forgiven, to Charge Ro∣man Catholicks with Vndutifullness to their Sovereign, and yet, at the same Time, not to Vnite, as Franckly with Roman Catholicks, in the Defence of a Prince of That Per∣suasion; as ever the Roman Catholiques did with Church-of-England-men, in Defence of his Majesties Protestant Fa∣••••er. In One word more; (for I would be very Explicit upon this Subject) I bent my Vttermost Endeavours to∣ward the Allaying, and the Pacifying of all Vnkindnesses, and Aversions; which, My Interpreters have been pleas'd to call [A Project for the Uniting of the Two Churches,] and to Issue-out so many Anathema's, and Fulminations, against me for, that if their Prayers had been Heard, I had been Fifty Fathom Vnder Ground before this Time. Here lies the Core of the Vlcer; and who but the Noisy Advocates, (as they pretend) for the Protestant Cause, to Move This Wrath, and Indignation against me! They look Big, and Grave; They Garnish the Matter out, with Pomp, Form, and Solemnity: and when they have turn'd up their Stomachs, their Disciples Gather up the Qualm, as the Lesser Poets did Homers, and set-up for Authours upon't. But in fine; the Story has not One Syllable of Truth in't, as is made evident, beyond All Contradiction, over and over, in These Papers; and, yet, betwixt Cre∣dulity, Passion, Lazyness, and want of Skill in Common Sense; Transub••tantiation, and Idolatry, the Bug-bear of the Times, has not been more Sbittle-Cock'd, then This Argument; the Plot it self was not more Believ'd; nor the Story of it more Ridiculous: Nay, This very Practice is a Branch of it. And what's my Crime at last? (taking it at the very Worst of their Own Construction) but the Hunting, and Discovering, of a Pack of Forsworn

Miscreants, and laying Open the Confederacy, betwixt the Mercenary Brutes, and their more Execrable Masters? Which I have done, with the Conscience of a Christian, a Subject, a Church-of-England-man, and a Lover of Iu∣stice. I never lik'd the Hobby-Horsing Processions of God∣freys Funeral, and the Burnings of the Pope. And it is but Natural for Those that were up to the Ears in the Plot, when I was Tooth and Nail against it, to Hate Me, for Presuming to be in the Right, when they were in the Wrong. But to come now at last to a Close, upon This Question; the short-English of the Device, was, to make as Arrant, a Iugling, Sacramenting Rascal of me, (Sa∣ving the Then Kings Evidences) as ever Renounc'd God upon the Holy Altar. They did not only Propagate my Shame by Word of Mouth, Hand it from One to Another; (Well-nigh the Only Tradition that they would Allow of) and Spread it abroad, in their Missives, and Intelli∣gences, where they were sure it could not be Contradicted; but they Clubb'd, I know not how many of 'em, to the Libelling of me in Print. Insomuch, that I was forc'd to Complain to their Right Reverend Diocesan, of the Hard Vsage, in a Pamphlet call'd [The Ob∣servator Defended:] Where I set forth the Naked Truth of the Bus'ness; and after the Exposing of the Sham, I heard no more on't.

Now for Your Parts, Gentlemen, that were not so much as in Beeing when These Ceremonies Pass'd; what Opinion would You have Entertain'd of This Abominable Observator, without These Papers to Enform your Iudg∣ments, and to keep you Vpright in the Ways of Honour, Charity, and Iustice? What would you have Thought of a Creature that should have come down to you in Thou∣sands of Pamphlets, Mercuries, Pacquets, Domestiques, &c. in the Shape of so many several sorts of Rogue? And all this, for the sake of an Interest, where the Master was Painted yet Blacker then the Servant.

Before I go any further, I must desire you to take Notice of the Particular Date of This Preface; and to Compute, upon the Present Face of Things, as well as up∣on the Whole Antecedent Matter; Who were the True Friends to the Church of England; the Plaintiffs, or the Defendent; and whether I do not Rise, the very same Man, in April, 1687. that I Sat down, in April, 1681? I am No Prophet, nor the Son of a Prophet; but I do not know any One Accident of State, that I have either Mis-judg'd, or Mis-represented, in all These Papers: And I do persuade my self, that I was never more in the Right, then in the Iudgment I made, and the Mea∣sures I took, upon This Last Revolution; for the Point is Clear, even to the degree of a Demonstration; and that the Two things that I mainly Study'd, and Endea∣vour'd to Prevent, and Avoid, are Done, on the One Hand, and falln upon us, on the Other. That is to say; an Vnruly Zeal has brought us to the Sight of our Error; and the man is Blind, that does not, by this Time, Reade his Mistake in his Punishment. Without any more ado, Hinc Illae Lachrymae: But it is My For∣tune still, to bear the Burden of Other Peoples Faults, while They, (if I may set the Truth, against the Vanity) Reap the Fruit, and the Credit of My Services. How have I been Loaden with Reproaches of being Popishly-Affected, for Advising the Surest, the Fairest, and the most Christian way of doing Right, Honour, and Iustice, to the Church of England; while Those very People, set∣up for the Pillars of the Protestant Religion, whose Heats, and Intemperances have the most Endanger'd it! I Write, and Speak my Mind, with the same Singleness of Mea∣ning, and Simplicity of Thought, at This Day, that Ever I did; and I do not find, in the Change of my Master, any Change in the Tye of my Allegiance. I reckon my self Bound, by the Laws of God, and in Common Decency, Prudence, and Duty, to Preserve a Right Vnderstadning betwixt my Religion, and matter of Civil Obedience,

and Respect. The Divine does not Discharge the Sub∣ject; neither does Christianity pretend to Cross the Mea∣sures, to Trouble the Peace, or to Thwart the Order of Government. The Frame of a Political Body, is as Nice, and Delicate, as That of a piece of Clock-work: It will hardly endure, so much as Breathing upon; It must be kept, Clean, as well as Whole; and from Dust, or Can∣kering, as well as from Falls, and Bruises: For Scan∣dal is a Step toward Sedition; and the Blackening of a Prince in his Reputation, is next door to Drawing Bloud of him. A man can hardly make Subjects, Think a∣miss of their Sovereign, without Disposing them to Vn∣dutifull Actions too; and there are Ways of Calumnia∣ting, so Artificial, and so Effectual, that the Greatest Mis∣chief in the World, seems to be done, Many times, for Gods sake, and the Irreverence to be Hallow'd, by Scrip∣ture, and by Conscience. Common Men will not bear the Assront of being told, that there are none but Knaves, and Fools of their Opinion; But yet, at the same Time, there will be No Exception taken, at Mens Sup∣porting their Own Sense of Things, without Falling Foul upon Differing Iudgments. The Question is, whether I'me in the Right, not whether Another is in the Wrong, or No. And 'tis the Part of a Sober Man, to keep him∣self within his Own Province. 'Tis so far from Merito∣rious, Modest, Charitable, or Discreet, for Men that set-up for the Reputation of a Protestant Zeal, and Purity, to be still Crying-out, (upon the Comparison) Lord! we are not as the Idolatrous, Perfidious, and King-Killing Papists▪ that our Saviour, in the Parable of the Pha••isee, has Expresly set forth, for our Instruction, his uttermost Abhorrence of those Boasting Services, and Vncharitable Devotions. Lord! I do This, and I do That, he Cries; and Lord; I am not as Other Men Are, nor even as This Publican. Why here's a kind of a Iustification by Works, without either Grace, Faith, or Good-manners; and a Religious Pretext Advanc'd, upon the Ruins of

Brotherly Love. But (as I was a saying) can it be Ima∣gin'd, that a Prince will bear That from a Subject, that One Private Man will not Endure from Another? There's no Libell so Bitter, so Moving, so Provoking, and so Con∣temptuous, withall, as the Wounding of a King, by a Figure. The Addresses of some of his Late Majesties Parlia∣ments, were Master-pieces that way. Now the thing that I Labour'd, upon the Last Great Change of Sta••e, both by Reasoning, Industry, and the most Pressing Application of Councels, and Interest, was the doing of All that was Possible, to make the People Think Well of the Church of England, without Lashing-out against the Church of Rome: Especially, upon Those Capital Points, that are commonly made use of, to Transport the Multitude, be∣yond all Terms of Honesty, Moderation, and Patience; Such as Idolatry, for the purpose; where Every Cobler shall bring ye so many Texts against Idols; Put in for a Reformer, and make himself Iudge of the Controversy. Now upon the Truth of the Matter; the Managing of a Religion, is, in this Case, a Political Point, as it Influences the Affections of the Common People, with a Regard to the Honour of the Prince; the Peace, and the Well-being of the State. Hard Words, upon the Articles of the So∣vereigns Persuasion, cannot but Glance Hard Thoughts, upon his Person; And there can scarcely be a Scorn, or an Odium Reflected upon the One, that does not Reach the Other: and, Consequently, Expose the Publique to a very Great Risque, without doing any manner of Good: Beside, that it is no longer Religion, (as I have Touch'd upon't already) but a Spice of Faction, to Irritate, and Whip-up the Mobile, into a Violent Aversion for any thing that they do not Vnderstand. 'Tis a Dangerous Practice, to make them the Iudges in the Point: for they'l be taking the Same Liberty with Arbitrary Power, that they do with Popery; and make themselves Arbitrators, in matters, as well of State, as of Religion; and All, upon

the License, and Encouragement, of Intermedling in things of Government, which they have no Skill in.

The Lesson, and the Advice of Alaham to Heli, in a Tragedy of the Lord Brooks, falls Extremely pat to This Purpose, and I cannot Close-up the Topique, Better, then with a Passage in't, that I have now in my hand. Ala∣ham was upon a Design to Overturn the State; He gives Heli his Instructions what to do toward it; and the World could not have thought of a Surer, or a Read••er Way for the Compassing of his End. The Discourse fol∣lows.

Alaham.

Misfortune Piec'd, grows more Vnfortuna••••, And Parents Laws must Yield to Laws of State.

Heli.

Then see the Means: For though the End were Good, Yet for a Private man to Change a State; With Monarchs Sleights to Alter Monarchy, Seems Hard, if not Impossible to Mee.

Alaham.

Impossible, is but the Faith of Fear; To make Hope Easy, fetch Belief elsewhere. Yet lest These Sparks rak'd-up in Hollow Hearts, Should spread, and Burn, before their Fury show. Keep on the Course which you have US'D to go. Preach you with Fiery Tongue; Distinguish Might; Tyrants from Kings; Duties in Question bring 'Twixt God and Man; where Power INFINITE Compar'd, makes FINITE Power a Scornfull Thing. Safely so, Craft may with the Truth give Light, To Iudge of Crowns, without Enammelling, And bring Contempt upon the Monarchs State, Where Streight Unhallowd' Power has Peoples Hate. Glance at Prerogatives Indefinite, Tax Customs, Wars, and Laws all-Gathering; Censure Kings Faults, their Spies, and Favourites; Holyness has a Privilege to Sting Men be not Wise; Bitterness from Zeal of Spirit

Is hardly Iudg'd; the Envy of a King, Makes People LIKE Reproof of Majesty, Where GOD seems GREAT, in PRIESTS AUDA∣CITY.

Traged. Alaham. p. 12, 13.

It will become me in this Place, to Distinguish upon the Matter in hand, before I quit the Subject. It is not My Meaning to Confound the Project of Mischief, with the Inadvertency, and Chance-Medley of it; or to Involve the Confederate Projectors, with the Unthinking Instru∣ments, in the Same Common Condemnation, and Censure: But it is sufficient to Consider, that here's a Way Chalk'd-out, that leads most Certainly to Perdition; and that whoever Steers, and Pursues that Course, shall, most Infallibly Arrive at the Same End. Whether upon Set-Purpose, and Advice, or by giving Credit to a Wrong Di∣rection, or a False Guide, it Matters not, as to the Pub∣lick: For the State suffers as much in the One Case, as in the Other. Only 'tis True; that, as to the Aggrava∣ting, or the Mitigating of the Offence; the Zeal, the Ig∣norance, or the Incogitancy of the One, is much more Ve∣nial, then what the Other does, upon Prepense-Malice, and Fore-thought. One tryes, out of [Curiosity,] for Instance, the Force of the Sun through a Burning-Glass, upon a Barrel of Powder, in a Magazine: A Boy puts a Blazing Link, for the purpose, out of [Wantonness,] into a Truss of Straw in a Stable. A Third leaves ye a Pan of Coals, out of [Negligence,] in a Room, to Air it, and the House takes Fire upon't: A Fourth sets so many Deals a Drying, out of Reach of Fire, (as he Ima∣gines;) but the [Heat] lays hold of 'em. And here are Four Ways now, of Springing a Conflagration. [Curio∣sity] is No Excuse for the First; nor [Wantonness] for the Second; Nor [Negligence,] for the Third; Nor [had I thought,] for the Fourth: but the Ignorance, (Espe∣cially with a Good Meaning) is More Pardonable, then the

Neglect; the Neglect, then the Wantonness; and the Wantonness of a Child, may be Better Born with, then the Curiosity here Suppos'd. But all this while, howe∣ver, These several Causes, and Occasions of Disaster, may Differ, in the Measure, and Degree, of the Wickedness, or of the Transgression; they are All Equall yet, as to the Fi∣nal Burning of the Town: Though the Dam ••able Hel∣lish Popish Iniquity, and Malice of Huberts Long Pole in Pudding-Lane, (as the Romance has it) Surpasses them All. The Two Cases in hand, are much alike; Only the One lays but the Metropolis in Ashes, the Other, the Three Kingdoms: and Men are Answerable Both ways, for Care and Consideration, as Two Essential Ingredients, in∣to All Offices of Honour, and Duty. That which the Pa∣pists were to do, in the F••ction; the Republicans did, in very deed, and Earnest. And (to keep to my Point) make use of the Weak, the Careless, the Curious, the Hu∣moursome, (and let me Add) the Popular, the Zelous, the Fearfull, and the Covetous, toward the Effecting of the Main Work: So that it is in This, as it has been in All Other Conspiracies; for One Man, that there is of a Facti∣ous, Spitefull, Canker'd Animosity and Venome, against the Government, there Are, and Have been, I make no doubt on't, some Hundreds, that have been either Wheedled, or Menac'd, or Corrupted, or Seduced, or Deluded, into the Common Cause of Apostacy, and Disobe∣dience. And when they come to be Hamper'd, in Leagues, Covenants, Engagements, and Associations, there are but too many of them, that will rather, Venture to be Damn'd, for Staying with 'em, then to be Hang'd, for Leaving them; and there they lye, Snugg, 'till they are drawn out of the Mud, by the Teeth, like Griggs, E're they'l Quit their Hold. The Result, in fine, is but This; they do all the Hurt in the World, without Meaning it, and without looking Before 'em, into the Probable Conse∣quences, and the Reasonable Issue, and Tendency of Things.

But the Motion of Political, is as Regular, as That of Natural Bodies; and Kingdoms, and States, have their Revolutions, and Courses, no less than Seasons.

A man may as well look into the Air, and Doubt whe∣ther the Sun Shines, as look about him in the World, and Doubt whether there be a Republican Spirit at Work; and whether it proceeds, by the Same Method••, at Pre∣sent, that have been made use of in All Former Times. That is to say; by setting False, or Daz'ling Colours be∣fore Weak Eyes; By laying Grievances before the Rash, and Cholerique; Dangers, and Matter of Fears, and Ie∣lousies before the Timorous; Spiritual Shams, before the Scrupulous; Scandalous Stories before the Credulous; Setting the Bold, and Daring, a-fire, with Insinuations of Indignity, and Provocation; Plying Male-Contents, with Artificial Stimulations toward Revenge; Emproving the Heats of a Mistaken Zeal, into the Contempt of Civil Or∣der, and Government. In fine; All Passions; All Hu∣mours; All Weaknesses; All Errors, are made Subservi∣ent to All Confederacies of Practice against the State.

Upon These Motives, and Iuducements, it was, (as I have Hinted before) that, upon the coming of his Present Majesty to the Crown, I did so much Press, and Inculcate, Care, Tenderness, Charitable Good Will; a Chri∣stian, and Political Agreement, betwixt the Common Sub∣jects of the Same Sovereign, and the Members of Both Churches. I did not know how far, the Craft, the In∣dustry, and the Application of One sort of People, might Prevail over the Easyness, Carelessness, and the Simpli∣city of Another; there being so many Difficulties, too, and Niceties, at That Time, in the way, as might very well Puzzle a man, how to Govern himself; whether as a Good Christian, a Loyal Subject, a Friend to his Coun∣trey, and Religion: with a Iust Regard to his Quality, Post, and Station, and to the Offices of an Honest Man. I was not Mistaken, I perceive, in my Apprehensions, and whosoever will but look back over his Shoulder, cannot

chuse but find it so: But God forbid, all this while, that any man should be Blam'd for being Short-Sighted; Or that Humane Frailty in the Case of any Mistake, should be render'd a Mortal Sin. There are Scandals Given, and there are Scandals Taken; And, as we have had but Too many Vnmannerly Hot-Spurrs of the Former, so we have had Some very Worthy Persons of the Latter sort, that have been Mis-represented to the World: And I lay the Stress of This Charge, onely upon the Fierce, the Obstinate, the Contumacious; and Those that have Offended out of Malicious Wickedness.

In the making of Mee a Papist, my Adversaries have done me an Honour, to Range me (how Libellously so∣ever they Intended it) under the Persuasion of my Royal Master: But with This Honour, they have done me No Right yet; because, in Truth, I am a Son of the Esta∣blish'd Church of England; Which they wish I were Not; and they are as Heartily Sorry, that I Am: For if I were, Really, of the Roman Communion; I should be a very Perjur'd Villain, for Swearing, with so much Solemnity, to the Contrary: Which would make My Testimony of as little Credit against Otes, as I have made his appear to be, against the Roman Catholiques. Nay, If by their Forgeries, they could but have made a Papist of me, to the Multitude, My Iobb had been done; and All my Discoveries of their Treasonous, and Seditious Plots, and Conjurations, would have been so much Breath thrown into the Air; and Three or Four Thousand Rheme of Pape•• Condemn'd to the Necessary House. No No! True-Protestant-Otes, and Bedloe were Hard, and Shot-free▪ against any Popish Silver Bullets, Screw'd-Guns, or Daggers: And their Knights of the Post; Their Sham-Plot: Their White-Horse-Consults; Their Somerset-Ho••se-Adventures, were True-Protestant-Rogueries, that C••uld only be Blown-up, and Confounded, by a Church-P••otestant Hand. In fine; If they could but have made-••••t the Proofs of the Plot, half so well, as I have made-out,

the Reasons why they would have Me to be a Papist, they might have gone-on, (for ought I know) in a Com∣fortable way▪ of Drawing, Hanging, and Quartering, in Saecula Saeculorum.

Since the Finishing of the Paragraph next above, and with the Pen yet in my Hand, came a Gentleman to me with a Fresh Piece of Intelligence; which is, that I have taken Pet at the Toleration, and thrown-up my Ob∣servator because Things would not Work My Way; and I have lost All my Friends at Court upon't. Now the Malice of this Suggestion, is well enough Apply'd, but the Story, Groundless, and the very Pinch of the Case, Monstrously Mistaken. For my Discourses upon Toleration, have not been made a Question of Religion, but of Go∣vernment; and the Main Point in Debate, has been This; Whether Liberty of Conscience, be a Challenge in the Right of the People, or an Act of Grace, and Indulgence, Issuing from the Prerogative of the Supreme Magistrate? My Conclusion runs throughout in favour of the Latter; and bears an Exact Conformity to the Present Resolutions of State. As for Example.

[All Indulgences, In, or About Ex∣ternals in Religious Matters, (Saving in Cases of Stipulation, Laws, Promises, and the like) are Meerly Gratuitous, and Wholly De∣pendent, upon the Grace, Will, and Pleasure, of the Ci∣vil Magistrate.] And once again now.

[This does not yet Hinder the Right of the Civil Magistrate, to Interpose in such Indulgences, as may Stand with the Peace and Safety of his Dominions: Nay, and I am Persuaded, that over and above the Natural Softnesses of Generosity, and Good Nature, there are other Inducements to it, that are yet Stronger, and Founded upon Principles of Piety, Reli∣gion it self, Civil Prudence, and Honourable Just••••e. But where the Subject Challenges Those Graces and Di••∣pensations, as of Right belonging to the People, the••

are not Worthy of them: Neither, Effectually, have they any Title to them. For when they come to Struggle once, for That as a Due, which is onely a Grace; 'tis no longer a Question of Conscience, but a Competition for Power: And a Prince cannot Grant any Indulgence upon those Terms, without Ma••ming his Prerogative; and the Cession of an Incommunicable Pr••v••••ege of his Crown.]

This is the Doctrine that runs thorough All my Wri∣tings upon This Argument, and they are Open for any man to Examine, and, if he Can, to Disprove what I say; Though 'tis a little Hard, methinks, for one to be put to Vindications, and Defences thus, In Season, and out of Season; and 'tis not Every man's Body neither, that will Endure the Stripping, and a Reading upon't, in the Market-place.

But after All This Warmth, now, let me go-off like a Christian. I Forgive the Whole World, All the Will∣full, Deliberate, and Malicious Lies that any of the Wic∣ked Part of it have told of me; with all their Scurrili∣ties, and Inferiour Slanders, over and above: But I can∣not so easily Forget them; and I Phansy, I shall hardly ever Trust 'em. I have not the least Vnkind Impression, for those that have Reported the Ill-Things they have Heard of me, without Knowing me; And for the Rest, So help me God, as I have No Thought, or Wish of Re∣venge, in the Heart of me.

I have drawn out This Preface, to a Length, much beyond the Measure that I Propos'd to my self; And since I am Dipt thus far, in the Merits of the Main Case, I'le throw out my Hand; and Contract into This Pream∣ble, the Substance, and Marrow of what I had Design'd for a larger Discourse.

We have had several Essays, by Snaps here and there, (as the Author pleas'd) upon Divers Walks of the Plot; but little has been done, as yet, to the framing of a Iust, and Formal History of it, or to the laying of the Axe to

the Root. There are in the Three Parts of These Obser∣vators, more Remarques upon the Train, the Conduct and the Dependencies; with the Characters of the Witnesses and of the Patrons of it; then are, perhaps, to be found any where else: As in the Contradictions, of (a) Otes upon the Main Plot; and so of (b) Prance, Bedloe, &c. about the Murder of Sir Edmund-Bury-Godfrey. But there was so much Picking-Work in the Case; so much Puzzle in the Compa∣ring of Evidences, Times, Places, and Per∣sons; such a Latitude left, for Exception, Distinction, E∣vasion, Partiality of Comment, and Interpretation: So much Allowance, for Pretext of Surprizes, Slips of Me∣mory, &c. and upon the Whole, so strong a Prepossession, in Favour of the Plot, and Against any man that should presume to Thwart it, that People were Believ'd without Opening their Mouths, and Taught their Lessons before-hand, for fear they should be Out in their Enformations. They had their Rolls, and Private Practices by Themselves, before ever they came to Play their Parts, in Publique, for Good and All. So that upon the Whole, Truth was as good as Gagg'd, and the Plot insur••d; and a Conscien∣tious Evidence, against an Affidavit-man, was in much more danger of a Gibbet, then the Other of a Pillory; for there needed no more then a Good Round Oath, and a Trusty Second, fortify'd with the Vnaccountable Inferen∣ces of an Ambulatory Committee, to do any Honest man's Bus'ness: and Oaths, by This time were Grown as Cheap as Stinking Mackrel. The Imposture was Christen'd, a Narrative, or a Discovery; and the Impostors Themselves (according to a True-Protestant Heraldry) were styl'd the Saviours of the Nation. A man could not say Black was Ote'es Eye, but he was made an Invalidater of the King's Evidence; A Ridiculer of the Damnable, Hellish, Popish Conspiracy; His Mouth Stopt with Votes, and Proclama∣tions, and in Danger of a Councel, for Arraigning Four

Parliaments, and the Wisedom of the Nation. In few words; Such was the Awe, and the Power of the Facti∣on, and such the Tyranny of That Season, that there is no Perfect Memorial to be Expected of Those Times; and whoever should take upon him to Gather-up, and put together, the very Imperfections, and Fragments of That History, would find Work enough for an Age; And Mat∣ter enough, for the Bulk of the Book of Martyrs, Sixteen times over: Beside the Squabbles that would arise upon the Variae Lectiones, and the Impossibility of Reconciling Several Doctors Opinions, for want of Authentique Pa∣pers, and Instruments, to proceed by. But though the Maddest Creature in Moor Fields, would not Venture upon the Tracing of Particulars, thorough All the Turns, and Windings of that Diabolical Maz••; or so much as Think of Digesting the Inconsistencies, and Confusions of That-Story into any Pretence of Connexion, or Form: it may nevertherless very well stand with the Reputation, as well as the Duty of a Sober Man, not to let the Whole Truth be Lost, for want of here and there an Original; Provided, that it may come (so much as is on't) Pure, and Vntainted to Posterity, and Carry an Authority in the Face on't, not to be Controll'd.

Now as This Plot, partly in the Sham, partly in the Operation of it; and Partly again, in the Occasions Admi∣nister'd by it, has furnish'd Matter for a Course of Almost Six Years Papers; I cannot do better, then to Tack the History, to the Reflexions: Especially, when the One will be found so Needfull to the Expounding of the O∣ther; and the Truth laid as Clear, and Certain, as if it had been Pointed-out by a Beam of the Sun. I Draw All my Water from the Fountain; And not One Drop that is not Neat, Natural, and Syncere; and that will not a∣bide the Vttermost Test. That is to say; I have, for my Authorities; The Uotes of Several Parliaments; Printed by Order; and Publish'd with an Express De∣sign to Enform the World of the very Matters which I am

now about to lay open. (a) [Printing our Votes (says one) will be for the Ho∣nour of the King, and the Safety of the Nation.] (b) If our Actions be Naught, let the World Iudge of them; If they be Good, let them have their Virtue, &c. Therefore, I am for Printing, &c.] (c) The Popish Party Dread Nothing more then Printing what you do.] (d) This Prin∣ting, &c. is like Plain Englishmen, who are not Asham'd of what they do.] Now, over and a∣bove the Main Chance, in a Complyance with Au••hori∣ty, and Order; I have likewise upon the Publishing of These Papers, taken This Thought into my Care; That whereas, there are many People that would be Glad, and Willing enough to be Enform'd in this Intrigue, if it might be done without the Incumbrance of buying a Heavy Book for the sake of a Preface: Therefore, I have so far Consulted the Readers Ease, as to Order the Prin∣ting of it, apart, in a Less Volume, to the End, that it may serve to Both Purposes: But for Distinction sake, I shall give it a Title by it self however, that People may not Confound that which is properly, Preface, with the Following History.

Notes

• See Obs. 10.32.33.39.42.44. Vol. 3.
• See the Com∣mons Votes of Jan. 10. 1680.
• O••s. Num. 38. Vol. 3.
• Obs. 39. Vol. 3.
• (a)

  See Ote'es Veracities, Num. 60.61.62.72. Vol. 2.
• (b)

  140.141.142.180. Vol. 2.
• (a)

  Oxford De∣bates. Fol. 1.
• (b)

  Ibid. Fol. 2.
• (c)

  Ibid.
• (d)

  Ibid.