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<DATE>2011-01-12</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>A CHARACTER OF CHARLES THE SECOND,</P>
<P><HI>WRITTEN</HI> By an Impartial Hand, and expo&s;ed to PUBLICK VIEW FOR Information of the <HI>PEOPLE.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed in the Year, 1660.</P>
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<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>royal blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
<Q>HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</Q>
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<HEAD>A CHARACTER OF CHARLES THE SECOND.</HEAD>
<P>_IF the Naturali&s;ts pretend to give a rea&s;on why the Son of <HI>Croe&s;us,</HI> who had been dumb from his Infancy, &s;eeing a Souldier ready to kill his Father, cryed out, <HI>It is the KING!</HI> The force of Naturall affection breaking tho&s;e &s;trings, which, until that moment, had tyed his tongue: Who will wonder that a man, who on the bu&s;ie Theater of his Coun|trey, hath hither to pre&s;ented the Per&s;on of a <HI>Mute,</HI> &s;hould violate his re&s;olutions of continuing &s;ilent, when he &s;ees the cur&s;ing <HI>Shimei</HI>'s of this depraved Nation, going to murther the good fame of his <HI>Ma&s;ter,</HI> his <HI>Soveraign,</HI> and the <HI>common Father</HI> of the people? Therefore &s;ince my zeal to <HI>Truth,</HI> my veneration for <HI>Gods Anointed,</HI> and my ten|derne&s;&s;e for my Countrey hath loo&s;en'd my Tongue, I have taken the boldne&s;&s;e to informe the deluded People
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what manner of Man he is, again&s;t whom the&s;e Serpents have &s;pit their Venome.</P>
<P>And who may pretend to be better heard, or more be|lieved, then a Per&s;on who hath pa&s;t eighteen Years of his Time, in the Service and Court of this Illu&s;trious <HI>PRINCE?</HI> And who dares challenge the World to finde in the whole proce&s;&s;e of his Life, one in&s;tance of the lea&s;t deflexion from the &s;evere&s;t rules of &s;incerity; which yet he does not vain|ly urge to enhaun&s;e his Reputation, but to &s;trengthen his evidence, humbly acknowledging, that he does not owe this &s;teddine&s;&s;e to the complexion of his &s;pirit, but to the goodne&s;&s;e of <HI>Almighty God,</HI> who <HI>re&s;i&s;teth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.</HI></P>
<P>But before I begin to trace the fir&s;t Lines of this Piece, I conceive it very nece&s;&s;ary to di&s;cover the&s;e Incidents, which have con&s;pired to abu&s;e the Judgements of many di&s;|intere&s;&s;ed, well-meaning per&s;ons, who were otherwi&s;e &s;uf|ficiently fortified again&s;t the practi&s;es of notorious Enemies.</P>
<P>So great have been the di&s;tre&s;&s;es of his <HI>MAJESTY,</HI> &s;ince he hath been exil'd from His <HI>Kingdomes,</HI> that he could not po&s;&s;ibly &s;upport tho&s;e many Retainers to his Court and Cau&s;e, which have been involv'd in the common Fate of his Party; and it is &s;o natural for all men to overvalue their own merits, that they think them&s;elves very much injur'd, if they are not admitted to equal &s;hares with the re&s;t of their fellow Servants, though far more eminent for their &s;ervices pa&s;t, and better fitted for pre&s;ent employments; &s;o that neither his <HI>MAJESTIES</HI> in&s;uperable nece&s;&s;ities, nor the di&s;parity of their de&s;erts could hinder the&s;e pre&s;umptu|ous per&s;ons, from murmuring at his <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> whil&s;t they were abroad, and bla&s;ting of his per&s;onal vertues when they returned home, and many of the&s;e unworthy men, having been honour'd either with &s;ome Dome&s;tick relation to his <HI>MAJESTY,</HI> or at lea&s;t, with free acce&s;&s;e to his Court, had &s;uch pretences to be credited in all their reports, that whil&s;t the KING was not known to the People, who are
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ever inclin'd to believe the wor&s;t, they ea&s;ily perverted the candour of their opinions, either by wounding the Judge|ment of his <HI>MAJESTY</HI> in the choice of his <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> or profaning his Character by mo&s;t impudent &s;landers, e&s;peci|ally, during the Tyranny of the late <HI>Protector,</HI> and the vile In&s;truments of his ambition, who having murthered the <HI>Fa|ther,</HI> and &s;eized the Inheritance of the <HI>Son,</HI> knew that there were no better means to pre&s;erve their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, then by recriminating the Per&s;on of the Lawfull Pretender; and therefore they were &s;o prodigall of their rewards to the&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">That unhappy wretch <HI>Man|ning</HI> (when he was a pri&s;oner at <HI>Colen)</HI> confe&s;&s;ed that his Salary from the Pro|tector was 100. <HI>l.</HI> a Month.</NOTE> <HI>Apo&s;tates,</HI> that in the va&s;t Profu&s;ion of the publick Trea&s;ure of the Kingdom, the Salaries of the&s;e Villains will be found one of the mo&s;t co&s;tly <HI>Items.</HI> 'Tis true, the Per&s;ons and Practi&s;es of many of the&s;e gracele&s;&s;e men were a long time &s;ince very particularly known, but &s;uch hath been the iniqui|ty of the Times, that men might perpetrate the blacke&s;t Crimes with more &s;ecurity, then impeach a Criminal: and who then could expect that there &s;hould be found any Mar|tyrs for the <HI>Truth,</HI> when it was become a Principle in their <HI>Religion</HI> to abet the pre&s;ent Power, which is, <HI>To lye for their Intere&s;t.</HI> So that at my return into <HI>England,</HI> after Eleven years ab&s;ence, truely I was a&s;toni&s;hed to finde that this Poy|&s;on was not more diffu&s;ed, con&s;idering the activity of the Deceivers, and the &s;lavi&s;h remi&s;&s;ne&s;s of tho&s;e who &s;hould have generou&s;ly oppo&s;ed them. But it hath plea&s;ed Almighty God marvelou&s;ly to pre&s;erve his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> good Name, again&s;t the malice of tho&s;e wicked men, who went about to &s;lander the foot-&s;teps of his <HI>Anointed.</HI></P>
<P>And now finding a dawning of Liberty to a&s;&s;ert the Truth, I am bold to expo&s;e his <HI>Picture</HI> to the publick view, who&s;e <HI>Per&s;on</HI> will hereafter (when his Lu&s;ter &s;hall break through the Clouds of his misfortunes) prove the Delight of our Eyes.</P>
<P>Though <HI>Plato</HI> hath made the Soul to be the definition of man, allowing the <HI>Body</HI> to be only the <HI>Carriage of the Spirit,</HI> yet &s;ince we receive our Information of Corporeal Subjects,
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as well from our Sen&s;e as our under&s;tanding, I think it very proper to de&s;cribe his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> Per&s;on as well as his Qua|lities.</P>
<P>He is &s;omewhat Taller then the middle &s;tature of <HI>Engli&s;h men;</HI> &s;o exactly form'd, that the mo&s;t curious Eye cannot find one Error in his &s;hape. His Face is rather Grave then Severe, which is very much &s;oftned when&s;oever he &s;peaks: His Complexion is &s;omewhat dark, but much enlightened by his Eyes, which are Quick and Sparkling. Until he was near twenty years of Age, the figure of his Face was very Lovely; but he is &s;ince grown Leaner, and now the Maje&s;ty of his Counnenance &s;upplies the Lines of Beauty. His Hair, which he hath in great plenty, is of a &s;hining black, not frizled, but &s;o Naturally Curling into great Rings, that it is a very comely Ornament. His Motions are &s;o ea&s;ie and gracefull, that they do very much recommend his per&s;on when he ei|ther Walks, Dances, playes at <HI>Pal Maille,</HI> at Tennis, or rides the great Hor&s;e, which are his u&s;ual Exerci&s;es, In &s;umme, his <HI>Meene</HI> does denote his Quality; and where&s;oever he ap|pears, he ea&s;ily obtains the re&s;pect and affections of all that approach him; To the gracefulne&s;&s;e of his deportment, may be joyn'd his ea&s;ine&s;&s;e of acce&s;&s;e, his Patience in Attention, and the Gentlene&s;s both in the tone and &s;tyle of his &s;peech; &s;o that tho&s;e, whom either the veneration for his dignity, or the Maje&s;ty of his pre&s;ence have put into an awful re&s;pect, are re-a&s;&s;ur'd a&s;&s;oon as he enters into conver&s;ation; and this I have often heard ob&s;erv'd by many per&s;ons of quality of &s;everal Nations, e&s;pecially by the <HI>French,</HI> who are naturally more &s;erene and jovial, then the people of the&s;e Northern Countreys, who at fir&s;t approach'd him with &s;ome con&s;traint, until his MAJESTY was better known to them; but to deal ingenuo&s;ly, the&s;e advantages were not born with him, for he was too re&s;erv'd in his youth, but he owes the&s;e (with many other excellencies) to his misfortunes, which forcing him to communicate him&s;elf to all &s;orts of people of the &s;everal Nations where he hath &s;ojourn'd, have cultivated
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his manners, and render'd his perfections habitual.</P>
<P>Among&s;t his acquainted endowments the&s;e are the mo&s;t eminent, He under&s;tands <HI>Spani&s;h,</HI> and <HI>Italian;</HI> &s;peaks and writes <HI>French</HI> correctly; He is well vers'd in ancient and modern <HI>Hi&s;tory,</HI> hath read divers of the choice&s;t Pieces of the <HI>Politick,</HI> hath &s;tudied &s;ome u&s;eful parts of the <HI>Mathe|maticks,</HI> as <HI>Fortification,</HI> and the knowledge of the <HI>Globe;</HI> but his chief delight is in <HI>Navigation,</HI> to which his <HI>Genius</HI> doth &s;o incline him, that by his frequent conver&s;ation with Mariners, and his own ob&s;ervation, while&s;t he rid &s;ix weeks in the <HI>Downes,</HI> and in his pa&s;&s;age into <HI>Scotland,</HI> he hath ar|rived to &s;o much knowledge in this Science, that I have heard many expert Seamen (who&s;e di&s;cour&s;es are not &s;teer'd by the compa&s;&s;e of the Court) &s;peak of it with delight and wonder; in <HI>general,</HI> He is a true friend to <HI>Literature,</HI> and to <HI>Learned Men.</HI></P>
<P>But I conceive my &s;elf obliged to be more particular in my di&s;cour&s;e upon his <HI>Natural qualities,</HI> becau&s;e they import the well or ill-being of all tho&s;e who are under his Dominion; for though his outward Accompli&s;hments may &s;ufficiently recommend him to di&s;intere&s;&s;ed &s;trangers, yet they are only his <HI>genuino Vertues,</HI> which can render him agreeable to his own Subjects; among&s;t which I will a&s;&s;igne the fir&s;t place to his <HI>Under&s;tanding,</HI> &s;ince without this, the re&s;t of his Vertues will have little &s;ignification to|wards the happine&s;&s;e of his People; for if he wanted that, it were more to the purpo&s;e to de&s;cribe his <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> then his MAJESTY; and 'tis they would have the dominion over the People, while&s;t he repre|&s;ented only the &s;ign of a King: But I dare a&s;&s;ure the Nation that this will not be our ca&s;e, for his MA|JESTY hath not only a &s;olid Judgement, which (if the method of this di&s;cour&s;e would permit) I could evince by many pregnant in&s;tances, as well as by the univer&s;all conce&s;&s;ion of all the judicious men that know him: but he is &s;o well, yet &s;o mode&s;tly periwaded of it,
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that he dares tru&s;t him&s;elf, and is not capable of being carryed about with every Wind of Coun&s;el; &s;o that it will prove to be as truly &s;aid of his <HI>MAJESTY,</HI> as of his Grand-father, <HI>Henry the fourth, He that would corrupt his Councill, mu&s;t fir&s;t begin with the King:</HI> And when his Subjects &s;hall con&s;ider the advantages of his Edu|cation, the different Nations and Factions that he hath had to deal with, the direct oppo&s;ition of his Enemies, and the treachery of his &s;eeming Friends, the nece&s;&s;ity of his treating with &s;everal Parties in Per&s;on, (becau&s;e they would not tru&s;t tho&s;e who were about him) the Variety and Force of his Experience, from the di&s;tinct knowledge of the Natures of the <HI>People</HI> of &s;everal <HI>Coun|treys,</HI> of their chief <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of State, with the In|trigues of Government, both in their <HI>Churches</HI> and <HI>Common-wealths,</HI> which other Princes have not had the opportunity, or mi&s;-fortune to di&s;cover, and all the&s;e Le&s;&s;ons derived from their natural Springs, and learn'd in that excellent School of Adver&s;ity, which opens the Under&s;tanding, and confirms the Judgement; when the&s;e particulars are well con&s;idered, I believe, I &s;hall not be put upon my Oath to prove this Article.</P>
<P>Though the Sagacity of his Spirit may be of great ad|vantage to him&s;elf or Friends, yet it will have no comfort|able influence upon his Subjects in general, unle&s;&s;e it be al&s;o accompanied with <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> and therefore this is the vertue which is next to be con&s;idered.</P>
<P>If <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> be well defin'd by the Morali&s;ts to be, <HI>The con|&s;tant Will of giving to every man his due;</HI> then may I &s;afely pronounce his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> to be a Ju&s;t per&s;on. And though I have met with &s;ome reports which &s;eem to impugne this A&s;|&s;ertion, yet upon due examination of them, I am the more confirmed in this Character: For though the defection of &s;ome of the Royal Party hath given his Maje&s;ty general grounds of &s;u&s;pition, yet there is no man more aver&s;e then him&s;elf to entertain an ill opinion of any per&s;on, of who&s;e hone&s;ty he
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hath had experience. But it hath been his fortune (as what Prince or private per&s;on can avoid it) to have had &s;ome ab&s;ent per&s;ons of Merit and Integrity mi&s;repre&s;ented to him by &s;uch &s;ubtile Arts, as humane wit could not at the pre&s;ent find out the fal&s;hood. Some of the&s;e innocent &s;uffer|ers, either from the confidence of their own Sincerity, or po&s;&s;ibly, from their indifferency for his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> good Opi|nion (he not being in a condition either to reward or pu|ni&s;h) have neglected their defence, and lain for &s;ome time under his di&s;plea&s;ure; but as &s;oon as he once di&s;covered the abu&s;e (though without their applications) he hath not only made them very Honourable reparations, but marked the Informers with a publick Character of Infamy: And of this particular I have &s;o di&s;tinct a knowledge, that I do as confidently believe he is <HI>Ju&s;t,</HI> as that he is a <HI>Man.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e generous Qualities are actuated by the <HI>Magnani|mity</HI> of his mind, expre&s;&s;ed in his <HI>Fortitude</HI> and <HI>Courage,</HI> which I may be&s;t compare to one another; for his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> hath &s;hewed as great <HI>Courage</HI> in his attempts, to recover his ju&s;t rights, as <HI>Fortitude</HI> in his &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to Providence, in the deci&s;ion of the Battel again&s;t him; and yet there have been &s;ome Infectious breaths, who have endeavoured to bla&s;t his ju&s;t Reputation; but he hath &s;o &s;ingnaliz'd his <HI>Courage</HI> where&s;oever he appear'd, that even his inveterate Enemy <HI>Cromwel</HI> him&s;elf, could not refu&s;e him his ju&s;t prai&s;es, though it was not his cu&s;tome to give his Enemies their due honour, or to tell a truth, that might redound to his prejudice: But as this Character is not doubted by his Frieds abroad, &s;o I wi&s;h that it may never be known by experience to his enemies at home.</P>
<P>But that they may not be alarm'd by this la&s;t Period; I do a&s;&s;ure them, that <HI>Clemency</HI> is as natural to his <HI>Maje&s;ty,</HI> as <HI>Courage:</HI> which is a Propo&s;ition that proves it &s;elf; for there is no man truly valiant, that can be cruel; and it were to degrade him&s;elf, not to pardon Injuries; for in
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taking <HI>revenge,</HI> a man is but even with his Enemy: but in pa&s;&s;ing it over, he is become his Superiour. The&s;e are general notions which I mu&s;t apply to their particulars whom it may concern: His <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> genuine <HI>Clemency</HI> is confirm'd by his veneration for his <HI>Fathers memory,</HI> who left him his commands to pardon his Enemies (even tho&s;e Enemies, who mingled their hands in his innocent blood) as his la&s;t Legacy; and I do know, that he is convinced, that it is his intere&s;t to forgive tho&s;e that have oppos'd him, if they produce any &s;ea&s;onable Te&s;timonies of their return and good intentions towards him; knowing that the de|&s;pairs of his Enemies may produce cruel effects to his Friends: and he de&s;ires to make his acce&s;&s;e to his Throne as innocent, and as certain as he can; and therefore as the common <HI>Father of his People,</HI> he endeavours that we &s;hould reconcile and embrace like Brethren; and concludes, That the be&s;t means to re&s;tore the crazie Body of the King|dom to its former health and vigour, is not to cure one part, by afflicting of the other; but to heal tho&s;e wounds which are already fe&s;tred by their proper lenitives, and to remove (as much as lies in his power) all the cau&s;es of future Animo&s;ities; and this (to the be&s;t of my remem|brance) is the &s;ub&s;tance of a di&s;cour&s;e, which I have lately heard from his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> own Mouth upon this Subject.</P>
<P>But his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> natural <HI>Clemency</HI> may po&s;&s;ibly want the de&s;irable Effects towards penitent Offenders, if he be not po&s;&s;e&s;t of a <HI>Religious fidelity of performing his Promi&s;e,</HI> and a <HI>Con&s;tancy of Re&s;olution:</HI> If at lea&s;t the ill advi&s;ed pa&s;&s;ion of the parties that have &s;ufferd &s;hould ever incline them to importune him for their revenge, under the Stile of <HI>Ju&s;tice:</HI> To this I reply, That Perfidiou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Irre|&s;olution are &s;o directly oppo&s;ite to tho&s;e Qualities which I have already enumerated in his <HI>Maje&s;ties Character,</HI> that they are altogether incon&s;i&s;tent; and if he &s;hould have the lea&s;t inclination to <HI>Hypocri&s;ie,</HI> that which I have hitherto
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&s;aid of him cannot be true; but he knows very well that the reputation of Faithfulne&s;&s;e is one of the chiefe&s;t Pillars of Regall Power; and that even his Friends may rea&s;on|ably &s;u&s;pect the performance of his promi&s;es to them, if he breaks his Faith to his Enemies.</P>
<P>But to be more particular, I have often heard his <HI>Ma|je&s;ty</HI> declaime again&s;t the perfidious practices, which he had ob&s;erved in the Negotiations of &s;ome Publick <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> abroad; and Men do not u&s;e to declare an open War again&s;t tho&s;e Vices, to which them&s;elves are obnoxious; and I could name &s;ome Per&s;ons, whom he is plea&s;ed to honour with a particular e&s;teem, that have no other con&s;picuous Virtue be&s;ides their impregnable Hone&s;ty; for there is no|thing in Nature more productive of friend&s;hip, then &s;ome re&s;emblance in manners: But the narrowne&s;&s;e of his For|tune not &s;uffering him to &s;upply &s;ome empty men, as pro|fu&s;ely, as they had promis'd them&s;elves; they have branded his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> with Ingratitude, and Unfaithfulne&s;&s;e, Sins which he abhors both from his Nature and Judgement.</P>
<P>A man that is only <HI>Innocent,</HI> and not actively <HI>Vertuous,</HI> is &s;o near to imperfection and weakne&s;&s;e, that it is heard to di&s;tingui&s;h their confines; and if it be granted that his <HI>Ma|je&s;ty</HI> does po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the&s;e Illu&s;trious Qualities, yet if he wants the Nature to produce them by practice, they may &s;erve his Flatterers for <HI>Panegyricks,</HI> but they will be of little benefit to his People; therefore it is nece&s;&s;ary to evince his <HI>Indu&s;try,</HI> to confirm the Charracter of an accom|pli&s;h'd Prince.</P>
<P>There was for a long time &s;o dead a Calm in his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, his Enemies being &s;o &s;trong at home, and his Friends &s;o engaged abroad, that he could not make one notorious pru|dent &s;tep towards his recovery, which his cautelous Ene|mies have repre&s;ented to the undi&s;cerning People under the reproach of <HI>Lazine&s;&s;e.</HI> But the be&s;t of it is, he hath had an Army of his own <HI>Subjects</HI> for the Witne&s;&s;es as well of
<PB N="12" REF="7">
his <HI>Indu&s;try</HI> as <HI>Courage:</HI> And if the&s;e uningenuous cen|&s;urers had been of his Train the la&s;t Year, when his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> rid Po&s;t above two hundred Leagues through <HI>France</HI> and part of <HI>Spain,</HI> in the heat of Summer, I per&s;wade my &s;elf they would have confe&s;&s;ed their own wearine&s;&s;e, though po&s;&s;ibly they had denied his Diligence: And he &s;pares his <HI>Mind</HI> as ltitle as his <HI>Body,</HI> for be&s;ides his conver&s;ation with Books, he con&s;ults and in&s;tructs all men that addre&s;&s;e to him in his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e and among&s;t his <HI>Corre&s;pondents</HI> (which are not few) it may be there will &s;care be found <HI>One</HI> to whom he owes a <HI>Letter.</HI></P>
<P>Among&s;t the <HI>Moral Vertues</HI> there are &s;ome which have not &s;uch glorious Names as the&s;e which I have already men|tioned; but I think they are very con&s;iderable, becau&s;e they are more diffus'd into the ordinary Actions of our lives. In this number I reckon <HI>Temperance in Speech,</HI> wherein his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> &s;o excels, that I have often thought of it with ad|miration; for though I have &s;ometimes &s;een him very ju&s;t|ly angry, yet the harde&s;t expre&s;&s;ion that I have ever heard him u&s;e to a <HI>Gentleman,</HI> was once, and but once, when he told one of his dome&s;ticks, That he was an In&s;olent fellow: And though the Author of <HI>A late Letter from a near At|tendant on his Maje&s;ty, dated from</HI> Bru&s;&s;els, and written at <HI>London,</HI> may po&s;&s;ibly be di&s;plea&s;ed with this contradiction, yet out of my re&s;pect to <HI>Truth,</HI> I am bold to affirm, That to the be&s;t of my remembrance, I never heard his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> &s;wear an Oath in my life: But it is well known out of what Quiver the&s;e poy&s;oned Arrows come, which being &s;hot again&s;t the impenetrable Buckler of his Innocency, will re|bound upon the faces of tho&s;e wicked men that did fir&s;t le|vel them.</P>
<P>To this may be joyn'd his <HI>Sobriety</HI> in <HI>Diet,</HI> in which he &s;eldome makes the lea&s;t exce&s;&s;e, though he &s;tands not in awe of his <HI>Con&s;titution;</HI> for he is of &s;o healthful a <HI>Tempera|ment,</HI> that I have not known him above thrice &s;ick the&s;e
<PB N="13" REF="7">
eighteen Years: But he &s;o Naturally hates <HI>Debauchery,</HI> that his &s;everity to this vice hath cured &s;ome habitual drun|kards, who have cho&s;en rather to part with their beloved &s;ins, then with <HI>his Maje&s;ties</HI> Favour.</P>
<P>Though I can neither impugne nor defend the con&s;tant au&s;terity of his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> life, &s;ince it is po&s;&s;ible that in the heats of his Youth he may have rendred to the powerful charms of Beauty; yet I am certain that for many years he hath been &s;o Cha&s;t and Cautious, that I have not heard the lea&s;t whi&s;per of any indecent <HI>Gallantry:</HI> And yet his impu|dent Enemies have not only reproached him with habitual <HI>Incontinence,</HI> and farc'd their &s;landers with fal&s;e and frivolous tales, knowing that Fame, like water, bears up light things and &s;wallows the heavy; but they have &s;uborned their Mercenary <HI>Prophets</HI> to denounce <HI>Gods</HI> Judgements again&s;t him, for the&s;e &s;uppo&s;ed Frailties, and to infer with as ill <HI>Morality</HI> as <HI>Logick,</HI> That his Maje&s;ty is unfit for Govern|ment, becau&s;e that in his Youth he may not have been &s;tronger then <HI>Sam&s;on,</HI> wi&s;er then <HI>Solomon,</HI> or more holy then <HI>David.</HI> But who&s;oever will impartially con&s;ider his ju&s;t Character, and compare him either with the Ancient and modern Princes of the World: will hardly find a prece|dent where &s;o many &s;hining qualities are a&s;&s;embled, or &s;o little &s;hadowed with any inclinations to vice: and if &s;olid <HI>Vertue</HI> and <HI>Abilities</HI> for Government were a ju&s;t title to Dominion, the <HI>Bruti&s;h</HI> Ocean would not be the confines of his Empire.</P>
<P>The&s;e <HI>Excellent Qualities</HI> are the products of a happy <HI>Nature,</HI> or a generous <HI>Education,</HI> but as the &s;oul informs the body, &s;o it is <HI>Religion</HI> which animates the Character of Chri&s;tian Princes, and crowns their moral perfections, and therefore as the mo&s;t eminent, I have re&s;erv'd that to fini&s;h this Piece.</P>
<P>For his interiour <HI>Piety,</HI> I leave it to the <HI>Searcher</HI> of thoughts, in who&s;e hands are the hearts of <HI>Kings;</HI> for to
<PB N="14" REF="8">
us, the Tree is only known by the fruits; neither will I ex|tend my &s;elf upon the di&s;cour&s;e of his <HI>Humility, Meekne&s;&s;e, Charity,</HI> and other divine Graces, &s;ince the&s;e produce the &s;ame effects (though more rais'd, becau&s;e they are deriv'd from a higher Cau&s;e, for <HI>Chri&s;tian Religion is only rea&s;on &s;ub|lim'd)</HI> which I have already treated under other names; and they are fitter for the Pens of tho&s;e who have entrance into the <HI>Sanctuary,</HI> then for a &s;ecular Per&s;on; therefore I &s;hall only in&s;i&s;t upon his <HI>Maje&s;ties firmne&s;&s;e to his Religion,</HI> as the mo&s;t conducing to our purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>And in this particular, he hath given &s;uch &s;ignal te&s;timo|nies to the world, that I wonder at the folly, as well as the malice of his Enemies, that have planted their Batteries again&s;t this point; but it is a <HI>Maxime</HI> deriv'd from the Fa|ther of <HI>Lyes, To calumniate boldly, that &s;omething may re|main,</HI> and the people are &s;o &s;u&s;ceptible of tales, that it is hard to invent a <HI>Fable</HI> which is above their Faith.</P>
<P>His <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> having pa&s;&s;ed ten years of his exile in the ter|ritories of <HI>Catholick</HI> Princes, in <HI>France, Germany</HI> and <HI>Flan|ders,</HI> it cannot be doubted that he hath been frequently importuned to change his <HI>Religion,</HI> either by tho&s;e, who out of a firm per&s;wa&s;ion of the verity of their own belief, have thought it a charity to make him a <HI>Convert;</HI> or tho&s;e who from the pre&s;umption of their great abilities in <HI>Con|trover&s;ie,</HI> have had the ambition to adde &s;o illu&s;trious a per&s;on to the number of their <HI>Pro&s;elytes,</HI> or tho&s;e <HI>Politici|ans,</HI> who (de&s;pairing of his re-e&s;tabli&s;hment, unle&s;&s;e by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of <HI>Catholick Princes)</HI> have urged his conver&s;ion to the <HI>Roman Faith,</HI> as the be&s;t means to take the benevo|lence of his <HI>Alleys:</HI> but they have all encountred &s;uch an immovable firmne&s;&s;e in his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> to the <HI>Principles</HI> of his <HI>Religion,</HI> that they have retir'd from the a&s;&s;ault with no other effects, then the &s;atisfaction of having di&s;charged their <HI>Con&s;ciences,</HI> by their officious Coun&s;els.</P>
<P>Among&s;t many other <HI>Champions</HI> of the <HI>Roman Church;</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="8">
His <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> was frequently attacqued (whil&s;t he remained in <HI>France)</HI> by <HI>Mon&s;ieur de la Melitiere,</HI> a man of an excel|lent &s;pirit, who had been formerly a <HI>Calvini&s;t,</HI> and by <HI>Mon|&s;ieur Salmonet</HI> originally a <HI>Scots-man,</HI> and favourite to the <HI>Cardinal de Retz,</HI> who have &s;ince printed and publi&s;hed the Arguments of their conference; and there is hardly any <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> of note for piety or Learning in any part of the World, where his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> hath been, that hath not joyned his Forces to combate him for his <HI>Religion.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;hall he that hath pa&s;&s;ed &s;o &s;ucce&s;&s;efully through a ten years War in the defence of his <HI>Faith,</HI> be rob'd of his <HI>Triumph,</HI> and of his <HI>Highe&s;t Title,</HI> by the tongue or pen of a perjur'd Villain? We mu&s;t then conclude, that <HI>Ju&s;tice is fled to Heaven,</HI> and hath left us nothing here but her <HI>Bal|lance,</HI> in which the&s;e wretched men do weigh their worldly Intere&s;ts, again&s;t all the moral and divine Vertues; but <HI>Truth will be ju&s;tified of her Children,</HI> and his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> per&s;e|verance in his <HI>Religion</HI> will be dear to the truely pious <HI>People</HI> of this <HI>Nation,</HI> when the faces of the&s;e &s;landers &s;hall grow black with confu&s;ion.</P>
<P>But his <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> Fervour for his own way of <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> does not invade his Charity, to <HI>di&s;&s;enting Chri&s;tians:</HI> He is convinced by his <HI>Experience,</HI> as well as by his <HI>Rea&s;on,</HI> That <HI>Con&s;ciences are not to be forc'd,</HI> and that men may rea&s;o|nably &s;u&s;pect the truth of that <HI>Religion,</HI> which u&s;eth the <HI>Sword</HI> for her <HI>Argument;</HI> &s;ince it is as much again&s;t <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> as <HI>Charity,</HI> to per&s;ecute tho&s;e who may be in the <HI>right,</HI> or if not, &s;hall by this means be kept longer in the <HI>wrong;</HI> And therefore tho&s;e <HI>tender Con&s;ciences,</HI> who wor&s;hip God in the &s;incerity of their &s;pirits, and do not di&s;&s;ent from their Brethren, to advance their humrne Intere&s;ts, ought to joyn in their prayers to <HI>Almighty God,</HI> with the re&s;t of the people; to place this <HI>Religious, Virtuous King</HI> in peace, upon the Throne of his <HI>Ance&s;tors.</HI></P>
<PB N="16" REF="9">
<P>And if the Illu&s;trious Birth of his <HI>Sacred MAJESTY,</HI> His <HI>Ju&s;t Tittle</HI> to <HI>Dominion</HI> over us; warranted by the <HI>Laws</HI> of the&s;e Kingdoms, and marvelou&s;ly a&s;&s;erted by the <HI>Providence</HI> of <HI>God;</HI> and who (be&s;ides his <HI>Acquir'd Per|fections)</HI> is po&s;&s;e&s;t of <HI>Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice, Fortitude, Cou|rage, Clemency, Faithfulne&s;&s;e, Indu&s;try, Temperance,</HI> and <HI>Steddine&s;&s;e</HI> in his <HI>Religion;</HI> If the&s;e <HI>Eminent Qualities</HI> may derive happine&s;&s;e to his People, Then it is in our power to be happy, and He is bold to pronounce this to his <HI>Fellow-Subjects; Who is &s;o far from betraying his Coun|trey for his Prince, that he would not betray a private per&s;on, either for his Prince or Countrey.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="9">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
