_e6h( Ue 
350) 
she? caused Henry, Lord Darnly,’ her ' 
second husband, to be cruelly murdered, 
only to make way for ber third marriage, 
with Earl Bothwell, her paramour; for 
she was afterwards called to an account, 
and by the vote of the Lords and Com- 
mons, in Parliament, she was adjudged 
to die: whereupon she fled into England, 
where, contriving sundry plots with the 
Papists, and Duke of Norfolk, against 
Queen Elizabeth, she was at last brought 
to the block and lost her head. For her 
son, King James I, of England, the 
Duke of Buckingham, was charged with 
his death, by the Commons of England ; 
and King Charles I. lost his head at 
his own gates; and the death of King 
Charles IJ. hath been by some disputed, 
and I am ready to think that he had no 
‘fair play; and as for King James If. he 
abdicated the kingdom, and se died not 
among us; but gracious Queen Mary, and 
Qucen Anne, both of them came to their 
ends by natural deaths, which concludes 
the unhappy race and family of the 
Stewarts. 
_ But perhaps some say, Isthere nothing 
worth notice in the late reign, since you 
seem to pass it by with silence? to which 
T answer, We have had a glorious peace 
to make France great, and Great Bri- 
tain little; and what then? Knaves are 
advanced, delinquents preferred, leagues 
are broke, the allies tricked, the kingdom 
beggared, both church and state divided, 
debauchery encouraged, and pure re- 
ligion made a schismatic, the laws per- 
verted, the toleration violated, the suc- 
cession disputed, and indefeasible here- 
ditary. right asserted, in favour of the 
Pretender ; trades lost, Hanoverians dis- 
couraged, the bravest general in the 
world is degraded, the poor Catalonians 
deserted, and all out of order; the whole 
head was sick, and the whole heart 
faint, and so faint that we had the sene 
tence of death in ourselves, but, in God 
which raiseth the dead, who delivered us 
from so great a death, and. doth deliver, 
in whom we trust that he will deliver us. 
“Secondly: Then why should princes 
he concertied, about the character they 
are like to have, when they shall lie 
down in the dust? We see the Holy 
Ghost hath affixed the characters of 
kings deceased, whether good or bad; 
the names of kings are never buried with 
them: for it isthen, when covered with 
the dust, that they have their truest 
character, it is dangerous to give a true 
character of living princes, whetber good 
or bad; if good (saith one) it carries 
; - 
+ AD ese th 
Scarce Tracts, ec: 
May a 
d t segs ee eit 
with it the appenrancé 6f fulsome flat 
tery, and princes, by how much ore 
they deserve, so much the less they ge- 
nerally desire to be applauded; and, if 
bad, who dares to speak it out, while 
princes are armed with power to do usso 
much good or hurt, accurding as they are 
pleased or displeased; and by how much 
the worse they are, by so much the less 
they can bear to be told on’t; but, when 
once death hath brought them upon the 
coniimon level with the rest of mankind, 
every one will venture to say what le 
true, though not fit sooner to be said, 
“Tf princes will sin with Ahab, what 
better can be expected than Ahab’s cha- 
racter, that they did evil in the sight of 
the Lord; who, while they lived, were 
not desired; and, when dead, are not 
lamented; this, therefore, should be well 
weighed and considered, since a good 
name is valuable, not only before, but 
after, death; ’tis doing that which is right 
in the sight of the Lord, which makes 
their names as “ sweet savour, and bet. 
ter than precious ointment. Such who 
carry a good conscience with them, leave 
a good name behind them. The righteous 
shall be had in everlasting remembrance, 
and the memory of the just shall be 
blessed: though it is immediately ad- 
ded, but the memory of the wicked shall 
not; and this we may assuredly expect 
will be verifyed and made good in the 
case of the greatest Prince, as well as the 
meanest peasant. a, 
“Thirdly: Then blessed is that people 
that hath such a Prince, of whom it shall 
be said, he did that which was might in 
the sight of the Lord; and this, by God’s 
wonderful providence, is and will be, na 
doubt, the happy case and condition of 
Great Britain, since our illustrious George, 
after our long struggle and incessant 
prayers, is become our most rightful and 
gracious sovereign. We have now a 
great, a wise, a religious, Prince; for the 
King trusteth in the Lord, and, through 
the mercy of the Most High, he shall not 
be moved, Well may the Hanoverians 
mourn at the'loss ef so great a_ Prince ; 
but let Britons joy in their salvation: a 
legacy, indeed, by the brave King Wil- 
liam, of immortal fame; however by 
Sachevrell accused. And I doubt not, 
but this wise administration, shall give 
full satisfaction to every true Protestant, 
that he doth that which is right m the 
sight of the Lord: the king shall joy in 
their strength, O Lord, and in their sal- 
vation how greatly shall he rejoice! 
Thow hast ‘given him his heart's desire, 
3 “and 
