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<DATE>2014-08-08</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140515.apex.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B27778">
<STC T="W">P88</STC>
<STC T="G">190.g.12[179]</STC>
<STC T="C">R043526</STC>
<STC T="C">R229721</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99888414</BIBNO>
<VID>201751</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>A Reply to that malicious LETTER, pretended to be &s;ent from</HI> Bru&s;&s;els, <HI>by a near Attendant on his</HI> MAJESTIES <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Cou&s;in,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Was extreamly &s;urpri&s;'d, when upon the receipt of the inclo&s;'d, I perceiv'd by an expre&s;&s;ion of yours, as if &s;ome &s;ober per&s;ons had been abu&s;'d, and taken umbrage at that malicious Paper, Intituled, <HI>News from</HI> Bru&s;&s;els, <HI>a pre|tended Letter from &s;o near an Attendant on his Maje&s;ty,</HI> &amp;c. Certainly, they are of the lea&s;t di&s;cerning, that can po&s;&s;ibly &s;ubject their credits to an impo&s;ture &s;o obnoxious, and &s;o fertile of a Diabolical Spirit breathing in that vile Letter: But, to di&s;abu&s;e tho&s;e tender Gentlemen, and all other good men who may haply &s;uffer &s;ome delu&s;ion by it; know, from a Hand who&s;e Intelligence, commerce and often pre&s;ence at <HI>Bru&s;&s;els</HI> does inable him to di&s;tingui&s;h and pronounce concerning things of this nature, That this pretended Letter was written, and contriv'd in <HI>London,</HI> by the malicious in&s;tigation of <HI>T. S.</HI> the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Col. <HI>B. I. Har.</HI> &s;ome of their profligate gang, and the Pen of that property to all di&s;loyalty, and inhumanity, <HI>Ne.</HI> who, as God would have it, &s;et fall &s;ome of the very expre&s;&s;ions, and comical periods, &s;ince publi&s;hed in it, to an ingenuous Friend of ours, who had ca&s;ually di&s;cour&s;e with him, a little before it came forth in print. Thus, the vanity of the Fool, betray'd his own &s;tratagem. But to a&s;&s;ure you that it is &s;pu|rious, and the product of a devili&s;h malice, it begins with a lye. <HI>The K. &s;wore&mdash;</HI>&amp;c. You, and I, and all the world do know, what an in&s;tance his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> is of the highe&s;t temperance in this kind; and, that for his reverence in that particular, he is an example even to admiration. But the&s;e vile Mon&s;ters, who&s;e de&s;pe|rate fortunes, and affrighted con&s;ciences begin now to la&s;h them, and pre&s;ent them with the antepa&s;ts of Hell, for their intolerable Villanies, contrive by all the artifice and means they can, to &s;ow Tares in the beau|tiful Field they &s;ee &s;pringing, and to di&s;compo&s;e the happy union, and ble&s;&s;ed Settlement of the&s;e mi&s;erable Nations, by lying, and &s;candalous reproaches, and &s;uch as have the father of lies and di&s;cord for their Author. The comfort is, half an eye will &s;erve to penetrate into this wretched piece, that either con&s;ider the Style, or the Per&s;ons about the <HI>King;</HI> or his innate, religious and &s;evere propen&s;ity to lenity, moderation, friendline&s;s, and what&s;oever may denominate a virtuous Prince, and the mo&s;t di&s;po&s;'d to confirm, and make good what&s;oever &s;hall be tendred to him for the compo&s;ure of the&s;e mi&s;-under&s;tandings. Of this, <HI>Dear Cou&s;in,</HI> how many of us are witne&s;&s;es, who have &s;o frequently admired at the tenderne&s;s of his expre&s;&s;ions, even again&s;t his bitter|e&s;t Enemies! I do prote&s;t before Almighty God, that I think his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> as far from any thoughts of future revenge, as the mo&s;t meek, and con&s;ummate <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> upon earth: And for his fidelity, his <HI>Word</HI> is a Law of the <HI>Medes</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ians;</HI> who&s;oever &s;hall obtain it, has an a&s;&s;urance irrefragable; for all the world, that have at all practi&s;'d and ob&s;erv'd his <HI>Maje&s;ty,</HI> know, that it is a principle radicated in him, and to have co&s;t him &s;ufficiently dear in the judgment of le&s;s &s;evere per&s;ons, who have &s;ometimes thought, one of the mo&s;t Princely virtues, a di&s;advantage to his proceedings. But con&s;ider yet a little, and was there ever &s;uch a Rhap&s;ody, &s;o maliciou&s;ly comprehen&s;ive of every Article, that could be imagin'd might abu&s;e, and give jealou&s;ie to men who&s;e fortunes and who&s;e per&s;ons will be as &s;ecure and dear to his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> as the mo&s;t loyal of his Subjects: For what breaths he after &s;o pa&s;&s;ionately, as a perfect oblivion of what is pa&s;t; and that he may be united to his own flew and blood, in all the bonds of charity, and princely relations? But, is it po&s;sible to imagine, that at this time, on &s;uch a conjuncture, &s;o open and univer&s;al an affection as every where di&s;covers it &s;elf a|mong&s;t all the people of this Nation (the Phanatick and &s;ome de&s;perate wretches excepted) &s;uch a Letter &s;hould be &s;ent from <HI>Bru&s;&s;els?</HI> It is ridiculous, it is all together impo&s;sible: <HI>Cou&s;in,</HI> I trouble you no longer with this idle <HI>Affaire,</HI> Wi&s;e men will not be &s;o mi&s;taken, Good men cannot; The ea&s;ie and the credulous may be cured by this <HI>Antidote,</HI> and men mu&s;t look for the efforts of an utmo&s;t rage, whil&s;t &s;uch implacable and hel|li&s;h &s;pirits cannot abandon their fears, and their de&s;pairs; and that (with <HI>Kain)</HI> they di&s;pi&s;e mercy, and think their &s;in greater then can be forgiven. To conclude, Cou&s;in, I may be &s;orry to tell you, that his <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> has not in all his Retinue, an Attendant &s;o univer&s;ally intelligent, and that could devi&s;e half tho&s;e particulars, &s;o dome&s;tick, and &s;o per&s;onal; but as he has indeed none &s;o informed; &s;o, neither has he any about him &s;o in|di&s;creet and malicious. But I have already di&s;covered you the Sour&s;e and the Impo&s;ture; by the date, print|ing, and &s;everal particulars ill-tim'd in the Letter, I could illu&s;trate more, and more confound it; but it is not worth it: Have patience, Dear Cou&s;in, God will bring all to the day &s;hortly; and it will not be in the power of wicked men (the prudence of tho&s;e in Authority continuing) to fru&s;trate his de&s;igns of mercy towards us, &s;o long as we have a Prince thus qualified, a People &s;o inclin'd, and Per&s;ons in power &s;o able and &s;o di&s;po&s;'d, after all our <HI>revolutions,</HI> and deviations, to take the only ju&s;t and right expedient, to render us happy and &s;ecure.</P>
<P>Let us beg of God that he will convert our Enemies, and make us worthy of the&s;e ble&s;&s;ings; For &s;o prayes</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>From my Hou&s;e <DATE>this 26. <HI>March,</HI> 1660.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SALUTE>(Dear Cou&s;in)</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your mo&s;t Affectionate, and Humble Servant, <HI>N. P.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>LONDON, <HI>Printed by</HI> D. Maxwell, 1660.</P>
</DIV1>
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