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<DATE>2007-10-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A87897">
<STC T="W">L1284A</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.23[41]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99870275</BIBNO>
<VID>163697</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
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<HEAD>PEACE TO THE NATION.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Dear and Hone&s;t Countrymen,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Am to greetyou with an <HI>Evangelical Salutation; Joy,</HI> and <HI>Peace:</HI> and to tell you, that next to <HI>God</HI> him&s;elf, you are Indebted to <HI>General Monk,</HI> and the <HI>Gentlemen about him,</HI> for your <HI>Redemption.</HI> If you do not <HI>Acknowledge,</HI> and <HI>Em|prove</HI> this Ble&s;&s;ing, you are <HI>&V;nworthy</HI> of it; but I need not prompt you, either to tho&s;e Duties of <HI>Prai&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Adorati|on,</HI> which you <HI>owe</HI> to the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed Authour</HI> of this Mercy, or to that <HI>Gratitude,</HI> and <HI>Honour,</HI> which you will doubtle&s;&s;e <HI>Pay</HI> to the worthy <HI>In&s;truments</HI> of it. That you may not buy your Satisfaction too dear, I bring you <HI>Good Tidings,</HI> in <HI>few words:</HI> and contenting my &s;elf with the <HI>Gr<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e</HI> of the &s;tory, I &s;hall refer the nicer <HI>Particulars,</HI> to a better <HI>Hand</HI> or <HI>Lei&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P>In <HI>Octob.</HI> la&s;t, when <HI>Lambert &s;cattered the Committee of We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> (or (more mode&s;tly) <HI>&s;ent the Gentlemen to &s;ecure Port&s;mouth) his &V;nluckie Excellency</HI> thought it then a fit time to &s;et up for <HI>him&s;elf;</HI> and in the Head of a <HI>Phanatique Party,</HI> to bid Defiance to all the <HI>Sober Intere&s;ts,</HI> and <HI>Judgements</HI> of the Nation. His Principal a&s;&s;i&s;tant in the work was Sr. <HI>Henry Vane, the Prophet of that In&s;pired Rabble.</HI> The <HI>Faction</HI> was grown <HI>Bold,</HI> and <HI>Formidable;</HI> when, to <HI>divert the Cour&s;e,</HI> or <HI>meet the Fury</HI> of it, the <HI>General was Invited</HI> to draw a Force from <HI>Scotland</HI> into the <HI>North:</HI> and In he came, but to a Nobler purpo&s;e, than ever they Intended. They <HI>Called</HI> him in to &s;ave <HI>Them&s;elves,</HI> he <HI>Came</HI> to &s;ave the <HI>Nation.</HI> Upon the fir&s;t notice of his <HI>Advance, Lambert</HI> was &s;ent with a con&s;iderable Army to meet him, and <HI>London</HI> left almo&s;t without a <HI>Publique Guard,</HI> (&s;uch was the Confederacy they had in the <HI>Anabapti&s;tique Party, which was privatly Armed, and Listed in and about the Town.)</HI> In fine, after diver&s;e <HI>Affronts upon, and Tumults in the City,</HI> the <HI>Souldiery Revolted;</HI> the <HI>Fugitive Members Returned; Lambert's Army Mouldered away;</HI> and <HI>his Excel|lency vani&s;hed. General Monk</HI> having proceeded thus far without a Blow; but the more difficult part was &s;till behind, (for <HI>Treacherous friends,</HI> are much more <HI>dangerous</HI> than <HI>profe&s;&s;ed Enemies)</HI> The <HI>General,</HI> re&s;olves next, for <HI>London:</HI> and makes it his de&s;ign, both in his Pa&s;&s;age, and after his Arrive, by all means po&s;&s;ible, to avoid bloud-&s;hed; His <HI>March</HI> &s;peaks him a <HI>Souldi|er,</HI> and a <HI>Gentleman,</HI> for it was <HI>Regular,</HI> and <HI>Ino&s;&s;en&s;ive.</HI> The Country courted him upon the way, as their <HI>Deliverer,</HI> and he de|&s;erved it; For he hath proved him&s;elf no le&s;&s;e. The &s;trict <HI>re&s;erve</HI> he u&s;ed, was but what be&s;t became his <HI>Dignity</HI> and <HI>Pru|dence;</HI> he was too <HI>Generous,</HI> to betray <HI>Another,</HI> and too <HI>Wi&s;e</HI> to be betrayed, <HI>Him&s;elf;</HI> under this Guard of <HI>Honour,</HI> and of <HI>Caution,</HI> he pa&s;t his Journy; not to trouble you with long &s;tories, how the waies were thronged with <HI>Cries</HI> and <HI>Addre&s;&s;es</HI> of the Nation, for <HI>a Free Parliament;</HI> what <HI>Conference</HI> he had with the <HI>good Aldermen,</HI> what <HI>Complements</HI> were made him, by the <HI>Other</HI> men of <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter, &amp;c.</HI>&mdash;To come to the Point, upon <HI>Friday after noon,</HI> (the third of this In&s;tant <HI>February) General Monk</HI> took up his Lodgings in <HI>Whitehall,</HI> on the <HI>Monday following,</HI> his Excellencie was conducted by <HI>Scot,</HI> and <HI>Ro|bin&s;on,</HI> (with the formality of a <HI>Mace</HI> carried before them,) into a place, commonly called the <HI>Parliament-Hou&s;e,</HI> where he deliver'd him&s;elf according to good Di&s;cretion, and &s;oon after return'd to his Lodgings: Laden with <HI>the Thanks of the Hou&s;e; Tue&s;day</HI> and <HI>Wedne&s;day,</HI> were the <HI>General</HI>'s daies of <HI>re&s;t:</HI> but not &s;o to the <HI>City:</HI> for, upon <HI>Tue&s;day</HI> the 100000 <HI>l. Tax</HI> came out, which Netled the Citizens &s;hrewdly; and the day <HI>following,</HI> they met in <HI>Common-Councel,</HI> to advice upon it. Where they re&s;olved, <HI>to adhere to a former Vote of the Court in the Negative.</HI> At the &s;ame &s;itting was communicated a <HI>Declaration from Warwick-&s;hire, for a Free Parliament;</HI> it was of a fair &s;ignification, and Authority; the Gentlemen that brought it, received the Thanks of the Court; (not to mention the peevi&s;hne&s;&s;e of 2. or 3. Di&s;&s;enters,) <HI>'tis hoped they may be wi&s;er and honester hereafter;</HI> This was a <HI>Day</HI> of <HI>Bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> in <HI>London,</HI> and produced a <HI>Bu&s;ier Night</HI> at <HI>Westmin&s;ter:</HI> for the Councel of State, after a tedious Puzzle and Debate, I&s;&s;ued out Orders to <HI>General Monk,</HI> for the Reducing of the <HI>City,</HI> directing him to proceed, in &s;uch a Method, as they had pre&s;cribed him. In pur&s;uance thereof, his Excellencie marched early upon <HI>Thur&s;day</HI> the Ninth current <HI>Hor&s;e</HI> and <HI>Foot,</HI> into the <HI>City;</HI> by that means fru&s;trating a Re&s;pect which the Court had de&s;igned him, the Day before; <HI>Having appointed 4. Aldermen, and 8. Commoners to attend him the next Morning.</HI> His entrance into the Town, brought all the <HI>Hor|ror</HI> and <HI>Satisfaction</HI> with it, Immaginable: nor did the People under&s;tand for a long while, whether they &s;hould <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> or <HI>A|dore</HI> him: at la&s;t, in complyance with his Orders, he &s;eized divers eminent Citizens, and &s;ent them to the <HI>Tower,</HI> and took up his Quarters that Night in the City; By this time, the People, beyond all doubt, pronounced him the mo&s;t execrable Creature that ever came within their Walls, not under&s;tanding that the <HI>Mi&s;chief</HI> he <HI>did</HI> them, was but <HI>Je&s;t,</HI> and the <HI>Good</HI> he <HI>Intended</HI> them, was earne&s;t. That in con&s;ideration of a <HI>weeks Impri&s;onment, he would reward them and their Po&s;terity, with perpetual Liberty.</HI> This however, carried an appearance of &s;everity, which was in effect, but a point of Miltary Ho|nor; For his <HI>Inclination,</HI> and <HI>Duty</HI> in this Action, Led him <HI>&s;everal waies:</HI> as a <HI>Souldier he obeyed a Barbarous Order;</HI> as an <HI>Engli&s;h|man</HI> he made it his care, to take off the <HI>edge</HI> on't; and he was bound to do <HI>That, this day,</HI> by <HI>Commi&s;sion,</HI> Which he re&s;olved to undo 2. daies <HI>after</HI> upon a Nobler Principle; upon <HI>Friday,</HI> (the 10th. of the <HI>Month,</HI> and the <HI>la&s;t</HI> of his <HI>Commi&s;sion,)</HI> the Ge|neral demanded the Cities la&s;t Re&s;olve, from the Aldermen; who &s;till adhered to their former Judgement. His Excellen|cie, hereupon gave command <HI>to demoli&s;h the City Gates,</HI> and &s;o Returned to <HI>Whitehall.</HI> (Ob&s;erve, that his <HI>Di&s;plea&s;ure,</HI> and <HI>Commi&s;sion</HI> died together,) For the next Morning, <HI>(Saturday,)</HI> he made the Town a large Amends: <HI>Declaring Solemn|ly to joyn with them, and their A&s;&s;ociates for a Free Parliament;</HI> (but having fairly fir&s;t di&s;charged him&s;elf to tho&s;e at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> by a Letter in commune with his Officers; <HI>who have behaved them&s;elves as men of Honour in the Bu&s;ine&s;&s;e:</HI> The Truth is, had not the General been nimble with them, they had undermined him; for, contrary to <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Hone&s;ty,</HI> to their ex|pre&s;&s;e Agreement: they had not only entred into a <HI>&s;ecret</HI> combination with the Secretarie, but <HI>publickly encouraged their A&s;|&s;emblings and Petitions;</HI> and more particularlie, contrived the direct Ruine of that Per&s;on, who had &s;o lately pre&s;erved them. This is a Theam tran&s;ports me; The Bloudie Votes were pa&s;&s;ed that Di&s;mal Night: Let <HI>Nedham</HI> tell you; but never was a Joy &s;o Univer&s;al; wi&s;e men grew mad upon't, but &s;o were mad men &s;ober. The Cryes, the Bonfires, and the fame of the Ro&s;ted Rumps, did quite take down the <HI>Legi&s;lative Stomack;</HI> 'Tis thought the thing at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> is vani&s;hed. In fine, the hand of God is in't, his Name be pray&s;ed.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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