AN APPEAL TO Honour and Juſtice, &c.

I Hope the Time is come at laſt, when the Voice of moderate Principles may be heard; hitherto the Noiſe has been ſo great, and the Prejudices and Paſſions of Men ſo ſtrong, that it had been but in vain to offer at any Argument, or for any Man to talk of giving a Reaſon for his Actions: And this alone has been the Cauſe why, when other Men, who, I think, have leſs to ſay in thier own Defence, are appealing to the Publick, and ſtruggling to defend themſelves, I alone have been ſilent under the infinite Clamours and Reproaches, cauſeleſs Curſes, unuſual Threatnings, and the moſt unjuſt and in⯑jurious Treatment in the World.

[2] I hear much of Peoples calling out to puniſh the Guilty; but very few are concern'd to clear the Innocent. I hope ſome will be inclin'd to Judge impartially, and have yet reſerv'd ſo much of the Chriſtian, as to be⯑lieve, and at leaſt to hope, that a rational Creature cannot abandon himſelf ſo as to act without ſome Reaſon, and are willing not only to have me defend my ſelf, but to be able to anſwer for me where they hear me cauſleſly inſulted by others, and therefore are willing to have ſuch juſt Arguments put into their Mouths as the Cauſe will bear.

As for thoſe who are prepoſſeſs'd, and ac⯑ [...]ding to the modern Juſtice of Parties are [...] to be ſo, Let them go, I am not [...] them, but againſt them; they act ſo [...] to Juſtice, to Reaſon, to Religion, [...] to the Rules of Chriſtians and of [...] Manners, that they are not to be argued [...], but to be expos'd, or entirely neglected. [...] a Receipt againſt all the Uneaſineſs which it may be ſuppoſed to give me, and that is, to contemn Slander, and think it not worth the leaſt Concern; neither ſhould I think it worth while to give any Anſwer to [...] if it were not on ſome other Accounts, of which I ſhall ſpeak as I go on.

If any [...] ask me, why I am in ſuch haſt to publiſh this Matter at this time? Among ma⯑n [...] other good Reaſons which I could give, theſe are ſome:

• 1. I think I have long enough been made Fabula Vulgi, and born the Weight of general [3] Slander; and I ſhould be wanting to Truth, to my Family, and to my Self, if I did not give a fair and true State of my Conduct for impartial Men to judge of, when I am no more in being to anſwer for my ſelf.
• 2. By the Hints of Mortality, and by the Infirmities of a Life of Sorrow and Fatigue, I have Reaſon to think that I am not a great way off from, if not very near to the great Ocean of Eternity, and the time may not be long e're I embark on the laſt Voyage: Wherefore, I think, I ſhould even Accounts with this World before I go, that no Actions (Slanders) may lie againſt my Heirs, Executors, Adminiſtrators, and Aſ⯑ſigns, to diſturb them in the peaceable Poſſeſſion of their Father's (Character) In⯑heritance.
• 3. I fear, God grant I have not a ſecond Sight in it, that this lucid Interval of Tem⯑per and Moderation which ſhines, tho' dimly too upon us at this time, will be but of ſhort Continuance, and that ſome Men, who know not how to uſe the Advantage God has put into their Hands with Moderation, will p [...]ſh, in ſpight of the beſt Prince in the World, at ſuch extravagant Things, and act with ſuch an intemperate Forwardneſs, as will revive the Heats and Animoſities which wiſe and good Men were in hopes ſhould be allay'd by the happy Acceſſion of the King to the Throne.

It is and ever was my Opinion, that Mode⯑ration is the only Vertue by which the Peace [4] and Tranquillity of this Nation can be pre⯑ſerv'd, even the King himſelf, I believe his Ma⯑jeſty will allow me that Freedom, can only be happy in the Enjoyment of the Crown by a moderate Adminiſtration, if his Majeſty ſhould be oblig'd, contrary to his known Diſpoſition, to joyn with intemperate Councils; if it does not leſſen his Security, I am perſwaded it will leſſen his Satisfaction. It cannot be pleaſant or agreeable, and, I think, it cannot be ſafe to any juſt Prince to Rule over a divided Peo⯑ple, ſplit into incens'd and exaſperated Parties: Tho' a skilful Mariner may have Courage to maſter a Tempeſt, and goes fearleſs thro' a Storm, yet he can never be ſaid to delight in the Danger; a freſh fair Gale, and a quiet Sea, is the Pleaſure of his Voyage, and we have a Saying worth Notice to them that are other⯑wiſe minded, Qui amat periculum periibat in Illo.

To attain at the happy Calm, which, as I ſay, is the Safety of Britain, is the Queſtion which ſhould now move us all; and he would Merit to be call'd the Nation's Phyſician that could preſcribe the Specifick for it. I think I may be allow'd to ſay, a Conqueſt of Parties will ne⯑ver do it; a Ballance of Parties MAY. Some are for the former; they talk high of Puniſh⯑ments, letting Blood, revenging the Treat⯑ment they have met with, and the like: If they, not knowing what Spirit they are of, think this the Courſe to be taken, let them try their Hands, I ſhall give them for loſt, and look for their Downfal from that time; for the Ruin of all ſuch Tempers ſlumbereth not.

[5] It is many Years that I have profeſs'd my ſelf an Enemy to all Precipitations in publick Adminiſtrations; and often I have attempted to ſhew, that hot Councils have ever been diſtructive to thoſe who have made uſe of them: Indeed they have not always been a Diſ⯑advantage to the Nation, as in King James II's Reign, where, as I have often ſaid in Print, his Precipitation was the Safety of us all; and if he had proceeded temperately and politick⯑ly, we had been undone, Faelix quem faciunt.

But theſe things have been ſpoken when your Ferment has been too high for any thing to be heard; whether you will hear it now or not, I know not, and therefore it was that I ſaid, I fear the preſent Ceſſation of Party-Arms will not hold long.

Theſe are ſome of the Reaſons why I think this is the proper Juncture for me to give ſome Account of my ſelf, and of my paſt Conduct to the World; and that I may do this as effe⯑ctually as I can, being perhaps never more to ſpeak from the Preſs, I ſhall, as conciſely as I can, give an Abridgment of my own Hiſtory during the few unhappy Years I have employ'd my ſelf, or been employ'd in Publick in the World.

Misfortunes in Buſineſs having unhing'd me from Matters of Trade, it was about the Year 1694. when I was invited by ſome Merchants, with whom I had correſponded abroad, and ſome alſo at home, to ſettle at Cadiz in Spain, and that with Offers of very good Commiſſions; but Providence, which had other Work for me to do, placed a ſecret Averſion in my Mind to [6] quitting England upon any account, and made me refuſe the beſt Offers of that kind, to be concern'd with ſome eminent Perſons at home, in propoſing Ways and Means to the Go⯑vernment for raiſing Money to ſupply the Oc⯑caſions of the War then newly begun. Some time after this, I was, without the leaſt Appli⯑cation of mine, and being then ſeventy Miles from London, ſent for to be Accomptant to the Commiſſioners of the Glaſs Duty, in which Service I continued to the Determination of their Commiſſion.

During this time, there came out a vile abhor'd Pamphlet, in very ill Verſe, written by one Mr. Tutchin, and call'd, THE FOREIGN⯑ERS: In which the Author, who he was I then knew not, fell perſonally upon the King himſelf, and then upon the Dutch Nation; and after having reproach'd his Majeſty with Crimes, that his worſt Enemy could not think of with⯑out Horror, he ſums up all in the odious Name of FOREIGNER.

This fill'd me with a kind of Rage againſt the Book, and gave birth to a Trifle which I never could hope ſhould have met with ſo ge⯑neral an Acceptation as it did, I mean, The True-Born-Engliſhman. How this Poem was the Occaſion of my being known to his Majeſty; how I was afterwards receiv'd by him; how Employ'd; and how, above my Capacity of deſerving, Rewarded, is no Part of the preſent Caſe, and is only mention'd here as I take all Occaſions to do for the expreſſing the Honour I ever preſerv'd for the Immortal and Glorious Memory of that Greateſt and Beſt of Princes, [7] and who it was my Honour and Advantage to call Maſter as well as Sovereign, whoſe Good⯑neſs to me I never forgot, neither can forget; and whoſe Memory I never patiently heard abuſed, nor ever can do ſo; and who had he liv'd, would never have ſuffered me to be treated as I have been in the World.

But Heaven for our Sins remov'd him in Judgment. How far the Treatment he met with, from the Nation he came to ſave, and whoſe Deliverance he finiſhed, was ad⯑mitted by Heaven to be a Means of his Death, I deſire to forget for their ſakes who are guilty; and if this calls any of it to mind, it is menti⯑on'd to move them to treat him better who is now with like Principles of Goodneſs and Cle⯑mency appointed by God, and the Conſtitu⯑tion, to be their Sovereign; leaſt he that pro⯑tects righteous Princes, avenges the Injuries they receive from an ungrateful People, by giving them up to the Confuſions their Mad⯑neſs leads them to.

And in their juſt acclamations at the happy acceſſion of His preſent Majeſty to the Throne, I cannot but adviſe them to look back, and call to mind who it was that firſt Guided them to the Family of Hanover, and to paſs by all the Popiſh Branches of Orleans and Savoy, re⯑cognizing the juſt authority of Parliament, in the undoubted Right of Limiting the Succeſ⯑ſion, and Eſtabliſhing that Glorious Maxim of our Settlement, (viz.) That it is inconſiſtent with the Conſtitution of this Proteſtant Kingdom to be Govern'd by a Popiſh Prince. I ſay let them cell to mind who it was that guided [8] their Thoughts firſt to the Proteſtant Race of our own Kings in the Houſe of Hanover, and that it is to King William, next to Heaven it ſelf, to whom we owe the Enjoying a Prote⯑ſtant King at this time. I need not go back to the particulars of his Majeſty's Conduct in that Affair, his Journey in Perſon to the Country of Hanover, and the Court of Zell; his particular management of the Affair after⯑wards at home, perfecting the Deſign, by naming the Illuſtrious Family to the Nation, and bringing about a Parliamentary Settle⯑ment to effect it, entailing thereby the Crown in ſo effectual a manner as we ſee has been ſuf⯑ficient to prevent the worſt Deſigns of our Jacobite People in behalf of the Pretender; a Settlement, together with the ſubſequent Acts which followed it, and the Union with Scot⯑land which made it unalterable, that gave a compleat Satisfaction to thoſe who knew and underſtood it, and removed thoſe terrible ap⯑prehenſions of the Pretender (which ſome en⯑tertain'd) from the minds of others who were yet as zealous againſt him as it was poſſible for any to be: Upon this Settlement, as I ſhall ſhew preſently. I grounded my Opinion, which I often expreſs'd, (viz.) that I did not ſee it poſſible the Jacobites could ever ſet up their Idol here; and I think my Opinion abun⯑dantly juſtify'd in the Conſequences, of which by and by.

This Digreſſion, as a debt to the Glorious Memory of King William, I could not in Ju⯑ſtice omit, and as the Reign of his preſent Majeſty is eſteem'd Happy, and look'd upon [9] as a Bleſſing from Heaven by us, it will moſt neceſſarily lead us to bleſs the Memory of King William to whom we owe ſo much of it; How eaſily could his Majeſty have led us to other Branches, whoſe Relation to the Crown might have had large pretences? What Prince but would have ſubmitted to have Educated a Succeſſor of their Race in the Proteſtant Reli⯑gion for the ſake of ſuch a Crown—? But the King, who had our Happineſs in View, and ſaw as far into it as any humane ſight could Penetrate, who knew we were not to be Govern'd by unexperienc'd Youths; that the Proteſtant Religion was not to be Eſtabliſh'd by Political Converts; and that Princes under French Influence, or Inſtructed in French Poli⯑ticks, were not proper Inſtruments to pre⯑ſerve the Liberties of Britain, fixt his Eyes upon the Family who now poſſeſſes the Crown, as not only having an undoubted Relation to it by Blood, but as being firſt and principally Zealous and Powerful aſſertors of the Prote⯑ſtant Religion and Intereſt againſt Popery; And Secondly, ſtored with a viſible Succeſſion of worthy and promiſing Branches, who ap⯑pear'd equal to the Weight of Government, quallified to fill a Throne, and guide a Nation which, without Reflection, are not famed to be the moſt eaſy to Rule in the World.

Whether the Conſequence has been a Cre⯑dit to King William's Judgment I need not ſay, I am not Writing Panegyricks here, but do⯑ing juſtice to the Memory of the King my Ma⯑ſter, who I have had the Honour very often to hear expreſs himſelf with great ſatisfaction, [10] in having brought the Settlement of the Suc⯑ceſſion to ſo good an Iſſue; and to repeat his Majeſty's own Words, That he knew no Prince in Europe ſo fit to be King of England, as the Elector of Hanover. I am perſuaded, without any Flattery, that if it ſhould not every way anſwer the Expectations his Majeſty had of it, the fault will be our own: God Grant the King may have more Comfort of his Crown than we ſuffer'd King William to have.

The King being Dead, and the Queen Pro⯑claim'd, the Hot Men of that Side, as Hot Men of all Sides do, Thinking the Game in their own Hands, and all other People under their Feet, began to run out into thoſe mad Extreams, and precipitate themſelves into ſuch Meaſures, as according to the Fate of all intemperate Councils, ended in their own Confuſions, and threw them at laſt out of the Saddle.

The Queen, who, tho' willing to favour the High Church Party, did not thereby deſign the Ruin of thoſe who ſhe did not Em⯑ploy, was ſoon alarm'd at their wild Con⯑duct, and turn'd them out, adhering to the moderate Councils of thoſe who better under⯑ſtood, or more faithfully purſued her Maje⯑ſty's and their Countries Intereſt.

In this Turn fell Sir Edw. Seymour's Party, for ſo the High Men were then call'd; and to this Turn, we owe the Converſon of ſeveral other Great Men, who became Whigs upon that Occaſion, which it is known they were not before; which Converſion afterwards bega [...] that unkind Diſtinction of Old Whig, and [11] Modern Whig, which ſome of the former were with very little Juſtice pleaſed to run up afterwards to an Extreme very pernicious to both.

But I am gone too far in this Part. I return to my own Story. In the Interval of theſe Things, and during the Heat of the firſt Fury of High-ſlying, I fell a Sacrifice for writing againſt the Rage and Madneſs of that High Party, and in the Service of the Diſſenters: What Juſtice I met with, and above all what Mercy, is too well known to need a Repetition.

This Introduction is made that it may bring me to what has been the Foundation of all my further Concern in publick Af⯑fairs, and will produce a ſufficient Reaſon for my adhering to thoſe whoſe Obligations upon me were too ſtrong to be reſiſted, even when many things were done by them which I could not approve; and for this Reaſon it is that I think it is neceſſary to diſtinguiſh how far I did, or did not adhere to, or joyn in or with the Perſons or Conduct of the late Go⯑vernment: And thoſe who are willing to judge with Impartiality and Charity, will ſee reaſon to uſe me the more tenderly in their Thoughts, when they weigh the Particulars.

I will make no Reflections upon the Treat⯑ment I met with from the People I ſuffer'd for, or how I was abandon'd even in my Sufferings, at the ſame time that they acknowledg'd the Service it had been to their Cauſe; but I muſt mention it to let you know, that while I lay friendleſs and diſtreſs'd in the Priſon of New⯑gate, [12] my Family ruin'd, and my ſelf, without Hope of Deliverance, a Meſſage was brought me from a Perſon of Honour, who, till that time, I had never had the leaſt Acquaintance with, or Knowledge of, other than by Fame, or by Sight, as we know Men of Quality by ſeeing them on publick Occaſions. I gave no preſent Anſwer to the Perſon who brought it, having not duly weighed the Import of the Meſſage; the Meſſage was by Word of Month thus: Pray ask that Gentleman, what I can do for him? But in return to this kind and generous Meſſage, I immediately took my Pen and Ink, and writ the Story of the blind Man in the Goſ⯑pel, who follow'd our Saviour, and to whom our Bleſſed Lord put the Queſtion, What wilt thou that I ſhould do unto thee? Who, as if he had made it ſtrange that ſuch a Queſtion ſhould be ask'd, or as if he had ſaid, Lord, doeſt thou ſee that I am blind, and yet ask me what thou ſhalt do for me? My Anſwer is plain in my Mi⯑ſery, Lord, that I may receive my Sight.

I needed not to make the Application; and from this time, altho' I lay four Months in Priſon after this, and heard no more of it, yet from this time, as I learn'd afterwards, this noble Perſon made it his Buſineſs to have my Caſe repreſented to Her Majeſty, and Methods taken for my Deliverance.

I mention this Part, becauſe I am no more to forget the Obligation upon me to the Queen, than to my firſt Benefactor.

When Her Majeſty came to have the Truth of the Caſe laid before Her, I ſoon felt the Ef⯑fects of her Royal Goodneſs and Compaſſion. [13] And firſt, Her Majeſty declar'd, That She left all that Matter to a certain Perſon, and did not think he would have uſed me in ſuch a Manner. Perhaps theſe Words may ſeem imaginary to ſome, and the ſpeaking them to be of no Value, and ſo they would have been if they had not been follow'd with farther and more convincing Proofs of what they imported, which were theſe, That Her Majeſty was pleaſed particularly to enquire into my Circumſtances and Family, and by my Lord Treaſurer Godolphin, to ſend a conſiderable Supply to my Wife and Family, and to ſend me to the Priſon Money to pay my Fine, and the Expences of my Diſcharge. Whether this be a juſt Foundation, let my Enemies judge.

Here is the Foundation on which I built my firſt Senſe of Duty to Her Majeſty's Perſon, and the indelible Bond of Gratitude to my firſt Benefactor.

Gratitude and Fidelity are inſeparable from an honeſt Man. But to be thus oblig'd by a Stranger, by a Man of Quality and Honour, and after that by the Sovereign, under whoſe Adminiſtration I was ſuffering, let any one put himſelf in my ſtead, and examine upon what Principles I could ever act againſt either ſuch a Queen, or ſuch a Benefactor; and what muſt my own Heart reproach me with, what bluſhes muſt have cover'd my Face when I had look'd in, and call'd myſelf ungrateful to him that ſav'd me thus from diſtreſs? Or Her that fetch'd me out of the Dungeon, and gave my Family Relief? Let any Man, who knows what Prin⯑ciples [14] are, what Engagements of Honour and Gratitude are, make this Caſe his own, and ſay what I could have done leſs or more than I have done.

I muſt go on a little with the Detail of the Obligation, and then I ſhall deſcend to relate what I have done, and what I have not done in the Caſe.

Being deliver'd from the Diſtreſs I was in, Her Majeſty, who was not ſatisfy'd to do me Good by a ſingle Act of her Bounty, had the Goodneſs to think of taking me into her Ser⯑vice, and I had the Honour to be employ'd in ſeveral honourable, tho' ſecret Services, by the Interpoſition of my firſt Benefactor, who then appear'd as a Member in the publick Ad⯑miniſtration.

I had the Happineſs to diſcharge my ſelf in all theſe Truſts, ſo much to the Satisfaction of thoſe who employ'd me, tho' often times with Difficulty and Danger, that my Lord Trea⯑ſurer Godolphin, whoſe Memory I have always honour'd, was pleas'd to continue his Favour to me, and to do me all good Offices with Her Majeſty, even after an unhappy Breach had ſe⯑parated him from my firſt Benefactor: The Particulars of which may not be improper to relate; and as it is not an Injuſtice to any, ſo I hope it will not be offenſive.

When upon that fatal Breach, the Secretary of State was diſmiſs'd from the Service, I look'd upon my ſelf as loſt, it being a general Rule in ſuch Caſes, when a great Officer falls, that all who came in by his Intereſt fall with him. And reſolving never to abandon [15] the Fortunes of the Man to whom I ow'd ſo much of my own, I quitted the uſual Applica⯑tions which I had made to my Lord Trea⯑ſurer.

But my generous Benefactor, when he un⯑derſtood it, frankly told me, That I ſhould by no means do ſo; for, ſaid he, in the moſt engaging terms, My Lord Treaſurer will employ you in nothing but what is for the pub⯑lick Service, and agreeable to your own Sen⯑timents of Things: And beſides, it is the Queen you are ſerving, who has been very good to you. Pray apply your ſelf as you uſed to do; I ſhall not take it ill from you in the leaſt.

Upon this I went to wait on my Lord Trea⯑ſurer, who receiv'd me with great Freedom, and told me ſmiling, He had not ſeen me along while. I told his Lordſhip very frankly the Occaſion, That the unhappy Breach that had fallen out, had made me doubtful whether I ſhould be acceptable to his Lordſhip. That I knew it was uſual, when great Perſons fall, that all who were in their Intereſt fell with them. That his Lordſhip knew the Obliga⯑tions I was under, and that I could not but fear my Intereſt in his Lordſhip was leſ⯑ſen'd on that Account. Not at all Mr. De Foe, reply'd his Lordſhip; I always think a Man ho⯑neſt, till I find to the contrary.

Upon this I attended his Lordſhip as uſual, and being reſolved to remove all poſſible Ground of Suſpicion that I kept any ſecret Correſpondence, I never viſited, or wrote to, or any way correſponded with my principal [16] Benefactor for above three Years; which he ſo well knew the Reaſon of, and ſo well ap⯑prov'd that punctual Behaviour in me, that he never took it ill from me at all.

In Conſequence of this Reception, my Lord Godolphin had the Goodneſs not only to intro⯑duce me for the ſecond time to her Majeſty, and to the Honour of kiſſing her Hand, but obtain'd for me the Continuance of an Ap⯑pointment which Her Majeſty had been pleas'd to make me in Conſideration of a former ſpecial Service I had done, and in which I had run as much riſque of my Life, as a Grenadier upon the Counterſcarp; and which Appointment however was firſt obtain'd for me at the Inter⯑ceſſion of my ſaid firſt Benefactor, and is all owing to that Interceſſion, and Her Majeſty's Bounty. Upon this ſecond Introduction Her Majeſty was pleaſed to tell me with a Good⯑neſs peculiar to Her ſelf, That ſhe had ſuch Satisfaction in my former Services, that ſhe had appointed me for another Affair, which was ſomething Nice, and that my Lord Trea⯑ſurer ſhould tell me the reſt; and ſo I with⯑drew.

The next Day his Lordſhip having com⯑manded me to attend, told me, That he muſt ſend me to Scotland; and gave me but three Days to prepare my ſelf. Accordingly I went to Scotland, where neither my Buſineſs, nor the manner of my diſcharging it is mate⯑rial to this Tract, nor will it be ever any part of my Character that I reveal what ſhould be concealed; and yet my Errand was ſuch as [17] was far from being unfit for a Sovereign to direct, or an honeſt Man to perform; and the Service I did on that Occaſion, as it is not unknown to the greateſt Man now in the Nation under the King and the Prince, ſo I dare ſay, his Grace was never diſpleaſed with the Part I had in it, and I hope will not for⯑get it.

Theſe things I mention upon this Account, and no other, (viz.) to ſtate the Obligation I have been in all along to Her Majeſty per⯑ſonally, and to my firſt Benefactor princi⯑pally, by which, I ſay I THINK, I was at leaſt obliged not to act againſt them even in thoſe things which I might not approve. Whether I have acted with them farther than I ought, ſhall be ſpoken to by it ſelf.

Having ſaid thus much of the Obligations lay'd on me, and the Perſons by whom, I have this only to add, That I think no Man will ſay a Subject could be under greater Bonds to his Prince, or a private Perſon to a Miniſter of State; and I ſhall ever preſerve this Principle, that an honeſt Man cannot be ungrateful to his Benefactor.

But let no Man run away now with the No⯑tion, that I am now intending to plead the Ob⯑ligation that was upon me from Her Majeſty, or from any other Perſon, to juſtify my doing any thing that is not otherwiſe to be juſtify'd in it ſelf.

Nothing would be more injurious than ſuch a Conſtruction; and therefore I capitulate for ſo much Juſtice as to explain my ſelf by this Declaration (viz.) That I only ſpeak of theſe [18] Obligations as binding me to a negative Con⯑duct not to fly in the Face of, or concern my ſelf in Diſputes with thoſe to whom I was under ſuch Obligations, altho' I might not in my Judgment joyn in many things that were done. No Obligation could excuſe me in calling Evil Good, or Good Evil; but I am of the Opinion, that I might juſtly think my ſelf oblig'd to defend what I thought was to be defended, and to be ſilent in any thing which I might think was not.

If this is a Crime, I muſt plead guilty, and give in the Hiſtory of my Obligation above-mention'd as an Extenuation, at leaſt, if not a Juſtification of my Conduct; ſup⯑poſe a Man's Father was guilty of ſeveral things unlawful and unjuſtifiable, a Man may heartily deteſt the unjuſtifiable thing, and yet it ought not to be expected that he ſhould expoſe his Father. I think the Caſe on my ſide exactly the ſame. Nor can the Duty to a Parent be more ſtrongly obliging than the Obligation laid on me: But I muſt allow the Caſe on the other ſide not the ſame?

And this brings me to the Affirmative, and to enquire what the Matters of Fact are, what I have done, or have not done, on Account of theſe Obligations which I have been under.

It is a general Suggeſtion, and is affirm'd with ſuch Aſſurance, that they tell me it is in vain to contradict it; That I have been employ'd by the Earl of O [...]d, late Lord Treaſurer, in the late Diſputes about Publick Affairs, to write for him, or to put it into their own Particulars, have written by his Direction, taken the Ma⯑terials [19] from him, been dictated to, or inſtruct⯑ed by him, or by other Perſons from him, by his Order, and the like; and that I have re⯑ceiv'd a Penſion, or Sallery, or Payment from his Lordſhip for ſuch Services as theſe.

If I could put it into Words that would more fully expreſs the Meaning of theſe Peo⯑ple, I profeſs I would do it.

One would think it was impoſſible; but that ſince theſe things have been ſo confident⯑ly affirm'd, ſome Evidence might be produc'd, ſome Facts might appear, ſome one Body or other might be found that could ſpeak of cer⯑tain Knowledge: To ſay things have been car⯑ry'd too cloſely to be diſcover'd, is ſaying no⯑thing; for then they muſt own, that it is not diſcover'd: And how then can they affirm it, as they do, with ſuch an Aſſurance, as nothing ought to be affirm'd by honeſt Men, unleſs they were able to prove it?

To ſpeak then to the Fact: Were the Re⯑proach upon me only in this Particular, I ſhould not mention it; I ſhould not think it a Reproach to be directed by a Man to whom the Queen had at that time entruſted the Ad⯑miniſtration of the Government. But as it is a Reproach upon his Lordſhip, Juſtice re⯑quires that I do Right in this Caſe. The Thing is true or falſe, I would recommend it to thoſe who would be call'd honeſt Men, to conſider but one Thing, (viz.) What if it ſhould not be true? Can they juſtify the Inju⯑ry done to that Perſon, or to any Perſon con⯑cern'd? If it cannot be prov'd, if no Veſtiges appear to ground it upon, how can they [20] charge Men upon Rumours and Reports, and joyn to run Men's Characters down by the Stream of Clamour.

In Anſwer to the Charge, I bear Witneſs to Poſterity, that every Part of it is falſe and forg'd; and I do ſolemnly proteſt, in the Fear and Preſence of him that ſhall Judge us all, both the Slanderers, and the Slandered, that I have not receiv'd any Inſtructions, Directi⯑ons, Orders, or let them call it what they will of that kind, for the Writing any Part of what I have written, or any Materials for the put⯑ting together, for the Forming any Book or Pamphlet whatſoever from the ſaid Earl of O [...]d, late Lord Treaſurer, or from any Perſon, by his Order, or Direction, ſince the Time that the late Earl of G [...]in was Lord Treaſurer: Neither did I ever ſhew, or cauſe to be ſhew'd to his Lordſhip, for his Ap⯑probation, Correction, Alteration, or for any other Cauſe, any Book, Paper, or Pam⯑phlet, which I have Written and Publiſh'd be⯑fore the ſame was Printed, work'd off at the Preſs, and Publiſh'd.

If any Man living can detect me of the leaſt Prevarication in this, or in any Part of it, I deſire him to do it by all means; and I chal⯑lenge all the World to do it—And if they cannot, then I appeal, as in my Title, to the Honour and Juſtice of my worſt Enemies, to know upon what Foundation of Truth or Con⯑ſcience they can affirm theſe things, and for what it is that I bear theſe Reproaches.

[21] In all my Writing, I ever capitulated for my Liberty to ſpeak according to my own Judgment of Things; I ever had that Liberty allow'd me, nor was I ever impoſed upon to write this way or that againſt my Judgment by any Perſon whatſoever.

I come now hiſtorically to the Point of Time when my Lord Godolphin was diſmiſs'd from his Employment, and the late unhappy Diviſion broke out at Court; I waited on my Lord the Day he was diſplac'd, and humbly ask'd his Lordſhip's Direction, what Courſe I ſhould take? His Lordſhip's Anſwer was, That he had the ſame good Will to aſſiſt me, but not the ſame Power; That I was the Queen's Servant, and that all he had done for me, was by Her Majeſty's ſpecial and particular Direction; and that whoever ſhould ſucceed him, it was not material to me, he ſuppoſed I ſhould be employ'd in nothing relating to the preſent Differences: My Buſineſs was to wait till I ſaw things ſettled, and then apply my ſelf to the Mi⯑niſters of State, to receive Her Majeſty's Com⯑mands from them.

It occur'd to me immediately, as a Princi⯑ple for my Conduct, that it was not material to me what Miniſters Her Majeſty was pleas'd to employ, my Duty was to go along with every Miniſtry, ſo far as they did not break in upon the Conſtitution, and the Laws and Liberties of my Country; my Part being only the Duty of a Subject, (viz.) to ſubmit to all lawful Commands, and to enter into no Ser⯑vice which was not juſtifiable by the Laws: To all which I have exactly oblig'd my ſelf.

[22] By this I was providentially caſt back upon my Original Benefactor, who, according to his wonted Goodneſs, was pleaſed to lay my Caſe before Her Majeſty, and thereby I pre⯑ſerv'd my Intereſt in Her Majeſty's Favour; but without any Engagement of Service.

As for Conſideration, Penſion, Gratifica⯑tion, or Reward, I declare to all the World I have had none; except only that old Ap⯑pointment which Her Majeſty was pleaſed to make me in the Days of the Miniſtry of my Lord Godolphin: Of which I have ſpoken al⯑ready, and which was for Services done in a foreign Country ſome Years before. Neither have I been employ'd, or directed, or order'd, by my Lord T [...]r aforeſaid, to do, or not to do, any thing in the Affairs of the un⯑happy Differences which have ſo long per⯑plex'd us, and for which I have ſuffer'd ſo many, and ſuch unjuſt Reproaches.

I come next to enter into the Matters of Fact, and what it is I have done, or not done; which may juſtify the Treatment I have met with. And firſt, for the Negative Part, what I have not done.

The firſt Thing in the unhappy Breaches which have fallen out, is helping up Scandal upon the Perſons and Conduct of Men of Ho⯑nour on one Side, as well [...] on the other; thoſe unworthy Methods of falling upon one another by perſonal Calumny and Reproach. This I have often in print complain'd of as an unchriſtian, ungenerous and unjuſtifiable Practice. Not a Word can be found in all I have written re⯑flecting on the Perſons, or Conduct of any of the [23] former Miniſtry, I ſerv'd Her Majeſty under their Adminiſtration, they acted honourably and juſtly in every Tranſaction in which I had the Honour to be concern'd with them; and I never publiſh'd, or ſaid any thing diſhonou⯑rable of any of them in my Life: Nor can the worſt Enemy I have produce any ſuch thing againſt me. I always regretted the Change, and look'd upon it as a great Diſaſter to the Nation in general, I am ſure it was ſo to me in particular; and the Diviſions and Feuds among Parties, which follow'd that Change, were doubtleſs a Diſaſter to us all.

The next Thing which follow'd the Change was THE PEACE: No Man can ſay that ever I once ſaid in my Life, that I approv'd of the Peace. I wrote a publick Paper at that time, and there it Remains upon Record againſt me, I printed it openly, and that ſo plainly, as others durſt not do; That I did not like the Peace, neither that which was made, nor that which was before a making; That I I thought the Proteſtant Intereſt was not taken care of in either; That the Peace I was for, was ſuch as ſhould neither have given the Spa⯑niſh Monarchy to the Houſe of Bourbon, or the Houſe of Auſtria; but that this Bone of Con⯑tention ſhould have been broken to Pieces, that it ſhould not have been dangerous to Eu⯑rope on any Account, and that the Proteſtant Powers, (viz.) Britain, and the States, ſhould have ſo ſtrengthen'd and fortify'd their Intereſt by their ſharing the Commerce and Strength of Spain, as ſhould have made them no more afraid either of France, or the Emperor: So [24] that the Proteſtant Intereſt ſhould have been ſuperior to all the Powers of Europe, and been in no more Danger of exhorbitant Power, whether French or Auſtrian. This was the Peace I always argued for, purſuant to the De⯑ſign of King William in the Treaty of Parti⯑tion, and purſuant to that Article of the Grand Alliance, which was directed by the ſame glorious Hand at the Beginning of this laſt War (viz.) That all we ſhould conquer in the Spaniſh-Weſt-Indies ſhould be our own.

This was with a true Deſign that England and Holland ſhould have turn'd their Naval Power, which were eminently ſuperiour to thoſe of France, to the Conqueſt of the Spaniſh-Weſt-Indies, by which the Channel of Trade, and Return of Bullion, which now enriches the Enemies of both, had been ours; and as the Wealth, ſo the Strength of the World had been in Proteſtant Hands. Spain, who⯑ever had it, muſt then have been dependant upon us; the Houſe of Bourbon would have found it ſo poor without us, as to be ſcarce worth fighting for; and the People ſo averſe to them for want of their Commerce, as not to make it ever likely France could keep it.

This was the Foundation I ever acted upon with relation to the Peace. It is true, that when it was made, and could not be other⯑wiſe, I thought our Buſineſs was to make the beſt of it, and rather to enquire what Im⯑provements were to be made of it, than to be continually exclaiming at thoſe who made it; and where the Objection lies againſt this Part I cannot yet ſee.

[25] While I ſpoke of things in this manner, I bore infinite Reproaches from clamouring Pens of being in the French Intereſt, being hir'd and brib'd to defend a bad Peace, and the like; and moſt of this was upon a Suppoſition of my Writing, or being the Author of Abundance of Pamphlets which came out every Day, and which I had no hand in. And indeed, as I ſhall obſerve again by and by, this was one of the greateſt Pieces of Injuſtice that could be done me, and which I labour ſtill under without any redreſs; that whenever any Piece comes out which is not liked, I am immediately charg'd with being the Author, and very often the firſt Knowledge I have had of a Books being publiſh'd, has been from ſee⯑ing my ſelf abuſed for being the Author of it, in ſome other Pamphlet publiſh'd in Anſwer to it.

Finding my ſelf treated in this manner, I declin'd writing at all; and for a great Part of a Year never ſet Pen to Paper, except in the publick Paper call'd the Review. After this I was long abſent in the North of England, and ob⯑ſerving the Inſolence of the Jacobite Party, and how they inſinuated fine things into the Heads of the Common People of the Right and Claim of the Pretender and of the great Things he would do for us if he was to come in; of his being to turn a Proteſtant, of his being re⯑ſolved to maintain our Liberties, ſupport our Funds, give Liberty to Diſſenters, and the like; and finding that the People began to be deluded, and that the Jacobites gain'd ground among them by theſe Inſinuations, I thought [26] it the beſt Service I could do the Proteſtant Intereſt, and the beſt way to open the Peoples Eyes to the Advantages of the Proteſtant Succeſſion, if I took ſome Courſe effectually to alarm the People with what they really ought to expect if the Pretender ſhould come to be King. And this made me ſet Pen to Paper again.

And this brings me to the affirmative Part, or to what really I HAVE DONE; and in this I am ſorry to ſay, I have one of the fouleſt, moſt unjuſt, and unchriſtian Cla⯑mours to complain of, that any Man has ſuffer'd, I believe, ſince the Days of the Ty⯑ranny of King James the Second. The Fact is thus.

In order to detect the Influence of Jacobite Emiſſaries, as above, the firſt thing I wrote was a ſmall Tract, call'd, A Seaſonable Cau⯑tion.

A Book ſincerely written to open the Eyes of the poor ignorant Country People, and to warn them againſt the ſubtle Inſinuations of the Emiſſaries of the Pretender; and that it might be effectual to that Purpoſe, I prevail'd with ſeveral of my Friends to give them away among the poor People all over England, eſpe⯑cially in the North; and ſeveral thouſands were actually given away, the Price being reduced ſo low, that the bare Expence of Paper and Preſs was only preſerv'd, that every one might be convinc'd, that nothing of Gain was de⯑ſign'd, but a ſincere Endeavour to do a publick Good, and aſſiſt to keep the People entirely in the Intereſt of the Proteſtant Succeſſion.

[27] Next to this, and with the ſame ſincere De⯑ſign, I wrote Two Pamphlets, one entituled, What if the Pretender ſhould come? The other, Reaſons againſt the Succeſſion of the Houſe of Hanover. Nothing can be more plain, than that the Titles of theſe Books were Amuſe⯑ments, in order to put the Books into the Hands of thoſe People who the Jacobites had deluded, and to bring the Books to be read by them.

Previous to what I ſhall farther ſay of theſe Books, I muſt obſerve, that all theſe Books met with ſo general a Reception and Appro⯑bation among thoſe who were moſt ſincere for the Proteſtant Succeſſion, that they ſent them all over the Kingdom, and recommended them to the Peoples reading as excellent and uſeful Pieces, inſomuch, that about Seven Editions of them were Printed, and they were Re⯑printed in other Places; and I do proteſt, had his preſent Majeſty, then Elector of Hano⯑ver, given me a thouſand Pounds to have writ⯑ten for the Intereſt of his Succeſſion, and to expoſe and render the Intereſt of the Pretender odious and ridiculous, I could have done no⯑thing more effectual to thoſe Purpoſes than theſe Books were.

And that I may make my worſt Enemies, to whom this is a fair Appeal, Judges of this, I muſt take leave by and by to repeat ſome of the Expreſſions in thoſe Books which were direct, and need no Explication, and which, I think, no Man that was in the Intereſt of the Pretender, nay which no Man but one who was entirely in the Intereſt of the Hanover Succeſſion, could write.

[28] Nothing can be ſeverer in the Fate of a Man than to act ſo between two Parties, that both Sides ſhould be provok'd againſt him. It is certain, the Jacobites curs'd thoſe Tracts and the Author; and when they came to read them, being deluded by the Titles according to the Deſign, they threw them by with the greateſt Indignation imaginable: Had the Pretender ever come to the Throne, I could have ex⯑pected nothing but Death, and all the Igno⯑miny and Reproach that the moſt inveterate Enemy, of his Perſon and Claim could be ſup⯑pos'd to ſuffer.

On the other hand, I leave it to any con⯑ſidering Man to Judge, what a Surprize it muſt be to me to meet with all the pub⯑lick Clamour that Informers could invent, [...] being Guilty of writing againſt the Hanover Succeſſion, and as having written ſeveral Pam⯑phlets in Favour of the Pretender.

No Man in this Nation ever had a more ri⯑v [...]d Averſion to the Pretender, and to all the Family he pretended to come of, than I: A M [...] that had been in Arms under the Duke of Monmouth, againſt the Cruelty and Arbi⯑trary Government of his pretended Father; That for twenty Years had, to my utmoſt, op⯑poſed him, (King James) and his Party after his Abdication; That had ſerv'd King WIL⯑LIAM to his Satisfaction, and the Friends of the Revolution after his Death, at all Ha⯑zards, and upon all Occaſions; That had ſuf⯑fer'd and been ruin'd under the Adminiſtration of Highfiyers and Jacobites. of whom ſome are, at this Day, COƲNTERFEIT Whigs; It could [29] not be! the Nature of the Thing could by no means allow it, it muſt be monſtrous; and that the Wonder may ceaſe, I ſhall take leave to quote ſome of the Expreſſions out of theſe Books, of which the worſt Enemy I have in the World is left to Judge, whether they are in Favour of the Pretender, or no; but of this in its Place.

For theſe Books I was proſecuted, taken into Cuſtody, and oblig'd to give Eight hundred Pound Bail.

I do not in the leaſt object here againſt, or deſign to reflect upon the Proceedings of the Judges which were ſubſequent to this; I ac⯑knowledg'd then, and now acknowledge again, that, upon the Information given, there was a ſufficient Ground for all they did, and my unhappy entring upon my own Vindication in Print, while the Caſe was before their Lord⯑ſhips in a Judicial Way, was an Error which I neither underſtood, and which I did not fore⯑ſee; and therefore, altho' I had great Reaſon to reflect upon the Informers, yet I was wrong in making that Defence in the Manner and Time I then made it, and which, when I found, I made no ſcruple afterward to Peti⯑tion the Judges, and acknowledge, that they had juſt Ground to reſent it: Upon which Pe⯑tition and Acknowledgment, their Lordſhips were pleas'd, with particular Marks of Good⯑neſs, to releaſe me, and not take the Advan⯑tage of an Error of Ignorance, as if it had been conſider'd and premeditated.

But againſt the INFORMERS, I think, I have great Reaſon to complain; and againſt [30] the Injuſtice of thoſe Writers, who, in many Pamphlets, charged me with writing for the Pretender; and the Government, with par⯑doning an Author who wrote for the Pretender; and indeed the Juſtice of thoſe Men can be in nothing more clearly ſtated, than in this Caſe of mine; where the Charge, in their Printed Papers and Publick Diſcourſe was brought, not that they themſelves believ'd me Guilty of the Crime, but becauſe it was neceſſary to blacken the Man; That a general Reproach might ſerve for an Anſwer to whatever he ſhould ſay that was not for their Turn: So that it was the Perſon, not the Crime they fell upon, and they may juſtly be ſaid to per⯑ſecute for the ſake of Perſecution, as will thus appear.

This Matter making ſome Noiſe, People began to enquire into it, and to ask what De Foe was proſecuted for, ſeeing the Books were manifeſtly written againſt the Pretender, and for the Intereſt of the Houſe of Hanover? And my Friends expoſtulated freely with ſome of the Men who appear'd in it, who anſwer'd, with more Truth than Honeſty, That they knew this Book had nothing in it, and that it was meant another way; but that De Foe had diſoblig'd them in other things, and they were reſolv'd to take the Advantage they had, both to pu⯑niſh and expoſe him. They were no inconſi⯑derable People who ſaid this; and had the Caſe come to a Tryal, I had provided good Evidence to prove the Words.

This is the Chriſtianity and Juſtice by which I have been treated; and this Injuſtice is the thing that I complain of,

[31] Now as this was a Plot of a few Men to ſee if they could brand me in the World for a Jacobite, and perſwade raſh and ignorant Peo⯑ple that I was turn'd about for the Pretender, I think they might as eaſily have prov'd me to be a Mahometan; therefore, I ſay, this obliges me to ſtate that Matter as it really ſtands, that impartial Men may Judge whether thoſe Books were written for, or againſt the Pre⯑tender; and this cannot be better done, than by the Account of what follow'd after the firſt Information, which in few Words is thus:

Upon the ſeveral Days appointed, I ap⯑pear'd at the Queen's Be [...] Bar to diſcharge my Bail; and at laſt had an Indictment for High Crimes and Miſdemeanours exhibited againſt me by Her Majeſty's Attorney-General, which, as I was inform'd, contain'd two hun⯑dred Sheets of Paper.

What was the Subſtance of the Indictment I ſhall not mention here, neither could I enter upon it, having never ſeen the Particulars: But I was told, that I ſhould be brought to Tryal the very next Term.

I was not ignorant that in ſuch Caſes it is eaſy to make any Book a Libel, and that the Jury muſt have found the Matter of Fact in the Indictment, (viz.) That I had written ſuch Books, and then what might have follow'd I knew not: Wherefore I thought it was my only way to caſt my ſelf on the Clemency of her Majeſty, whoſe Goodneſs I had had ſo much Experience of many ways; repreſenting in my Petition, that I was far from the leaſt [32] Intention to favour the Intereſt of the Pretender, but that the Books were all written with a ſincere Deſign to promote the Intereſt of the Houſe of Hanover; and humbly laid before her Majeſty, as I do now before the reſt of the World, the Books themſelves to plead in my behalf; repreſenting farther, that I was maliciouſly inform'd againſt by thoſe who were willing to put a Conſtruction upon the Ex⯑preſſions different from my true Meaning, and therefore, flying to her Majeſty's Goodneſs and Clemency, I entreated her Gracious PAR⯑DON.

It was not only the native Diſpoſition of her Majeſty to Acts of Clemency and Goodneſs, that obtain'd me this Pardon; but, as I was in⯑form'd, her Majeſty was pleas'd to expreſs it in the Council, She ſaw nothing but private Pique in the firſt Proſecution; and therefore, I think, I can⯑not give a better and clearer Vindication of my ſelf, than what is contain'd in the Preamble to the Pardon which her Majeſty was pleas'd to grant me, and I muſt be allow'd to ſay, to thoſe who are ſtill willing to object, that, I think, what ſatisfy'd her Majeſty might be ſufficient to ſatisfy them; and I can aſſure them, that this Pardon was not granted without her Ma⯑jeſty's being ſpecially and particularly acquain⯑ted with the things alledg'd in the Petition, the Books alſo being look'd in to find the Ex⯑preſſions quoted in the Petition. The Pream⯑ble to the Patent for a Pardon, as far as relates to the Matters of Fact, runs thus:

Let any indifferent Man Judge whether I was not treated with particular Malice in this Matter, who was, notwithſtanding this, re⯑proach'd in the daily Publick Prints with ha⯑ving written treaſonable Books, in behalf of the Pretender; nay, and in ſome of thoſe Books, as before, the Queen her ſelf, was re⯑reproach'd, with having granted her Pardon to an Author who writ for the Pretender.

I think I might with much more Juſtice ſay, I was the firſt Man that ever was oblig'd to ſeek a Pardon for writing for the Hanover Suc⯑ceſſion; and the firſt Man that theſe People ever ſought to Ruin for writing againſt the Pre⯑tender: For if ever a Book was ſincerely de⯑ſign'd to farther and propogate the Affection and Zeal of the Nation againſt the Pretender, nay, and was made uſe of, and that with ſuc⯑ceſs too, for that purpoſe, THESE BOOKS were ſo; and I ask no more Favour of the World to determine the Opinion of honeſt Men for or againſt me than what is drawn conſtructively from theſe Books. Let one Word, either written or ſpoken by me, either publiſh'd, or not publiſh'd, be produced, that was in the leaſt diſreſpectful to the Proteſtant Succeſſion, or to any Branch of the Family of Hanover, or that can be judg'd to be favourable to the Intereſt or Perſon of the Pretender, and I will be willing to wave [36] her Majeſty's Pardon, and render my ſelf to Publick Juſtice, to be puniſh'd for it as I ſhould well deſerve.

I freely and openly Challenge the worſt of my Enemies to charge me with any Diſcourſe, Converſation, or Behaviour in my whole Life, which had the leaſt Word in it injurious to the Proteſtant Succeſſion, unbecoming or diſ⯑reſpectful to any of the Perſons of the Royal Family of Hanover, or the leaſt favourable Word of the Perſon, the Deſigns, or Friends of the Pretender.

If they can do it, let them ſtand forth and ſpeak, no doubt but they may be heard; and I, for my part, will relinquiſh all Pleas, Par⯑dons, and Defences, and caſt my ſelf into the Hands of Juſtice.

Nay, to go farther, I defy them to prove, that I ever kept Company, or had any Society, Friendſhip, or Converſation with any Jacobite; ſo averſe have I been to the Intereſt, and to the People, that I have ſtudiouſly avoided their Company upon all Occaſions.

As nothing in the World has been more my Averſion than the Society of Jacobites, ſo nothing can be a greater Misfortune to me than to be accus'd, and publickly reproach'd with what is, of all things in the World, moſt abhorr'd by me, and which has made it the more afflicting is that this Charge ariſes from thoſe very things, which I did, with the ſincereſt Deſign, to manifeſt the con⯑trary.

[37] But ſuch is my preſent Fate, and I am to ſubmit to it, which I do with Meekneſs and Calmneſs, as to a Judgment from Heaven, and am practiſing that Duty which I have ſtudied long ago, of Forgiving my Enemies, and praying for them that deſpitefully uſe me.

Having given this brief Hiſtory of the Par⯑don, &c. I hope the Impartial part of the World will Grant me, That being thus Gra⯑ciouſly Deliver'd a ſecond Time from the Cru⯑elty of my Implacable Enemies, and the Ru⯑in of a Cruel and unjuſt Perſecution, and that by the meer Clemency and Goodneſs of the Queen, my Obligation to her Majeſty's Good⯑neſs, was far from being made leſs than it was before.

I have now run through the Hiſtory of my Ohligation to her Majeſty, and to the Perſon of my Benefactor aforeſaid. I ſhall ſtate every thing that follow'd this with all the Clearneſs I can, and leave my ſelf lyable to as little Cavil as I may; for I ſee my ſelf aſ⯑ſaulted by a ſort of People who will do me no juſtice. I hear a Great Noiſe made of Puniſh⯑ing thoſe that are GUILTY, but as I ſaid before not one Word of Clearing thoſe that are IN⯑NOCENT; and I muſt ſay in this Part, they Treat me not only as I were no Chriſtian, but as if they themſelves were not Chriſtians. They will neither prove the Charge, nor hear the Defence, which is the unjuſteſt thing in the World.

I foreſee what will be alledged to the Clauſe of my Obligation, &c. to Great Perſons: And I reſolve to give my Adverſaries all the [38] Advantage they can deſire; by acknowledging beforehand, That no Obligation to the QƲEEN, or to any Benefactor, can juſtify any Man's acting againſt the Intereſt of his Country, againſt his Prin⯑ciples, his Conſcience, and his former Profeſ⯑ſion.

I think this will Anticipate all that can be ſaid upon that Head, and it will then remain to ſtate the Fact as I am, or am not Charge⯑able with it; which I ſhall do as clearly as poſſible in few words.

It is none of my Work to enter into the Conduct of the Queen or of the Miniſtry in this Caſe, the Queſtion is not what they have done, but what I have done? And tho' I am very far from thinking of them as ſome other People think, yet for the ſake of the preſent Argument, I am to give them all up, and Suppoſe, tho' not Granting, that all which is ſuggeſted of them by the worſt Temper, the moſt cenſorious Writer, the moſt ſcandalous Pamphlet or Lampoon ſhould be True, and I'll go through ſome of the Particulars, as I meet with them in Publick.

1ſt, That they made a Scandalous Peace, unjuſtly Broke the Allyance, Betray'd the Con⯑federates, and Sold us all to the French.

God forbid it ſhould be all Truth, in the manner that we ſee it in Print; But that, I ſay, is none of my Buſineſs.—But what hand had I in all this? I never wrote one word for the Peace before it was made, or to Juſtify it after it was made, let them produce it if they can; [39] Nay, in a Review upon that Subject, while it was making I Printed it in plainer Words than other Men durſt Speak it at that Time, That I did not like the Peace, nor did I like any Peace that was a making, ſince that of the PARTITION, and that the Proteſtant In⯑tereſt was not taken Care of either in that or the Treaty of Gertrudinburgh before it.

It is true, that I did ſay, That ſince the Peace was made, and we could not help it, that it was our Buſineſs and our Duty to make the beſt of it, to make the utmoſt Advantage of it by Commerce, Navigation, and all kind of Improvement that we could, and this I SAY STILL; and I muſt think it is more our Duty to do ſo, than the Exclamations againſt the thing it ſelf which it is not in our power to Retrieve. This is all that the worſt Enemy I have can Charge me with: After the Peace was made, and the Dutch and the Empe⯑ror ſtood out, I gave my Opinion of what I foreſaw would neceſſarily be the Conſequence of that Difference, (viz.) That it would in⯑evitably involve theſe Nations in a War with one or other of them; any one who was Ma⯑ſter of Common Senſe in the publick Affairs, might ſee that the ſtanding out of the Dutch could have no other Event: For if the Confederates had Conquer'd the French, they would certainly have fallen upon us by way of Reſentment, and there was no doubt, but the ſame Councils that led us to make a Peace, would Oblige us to maintain it, by preventing too great Impreſſions upon the French.

[40] On the other hand, I alledged, that ſhould the French prevail againſt the Dutch, unleſs he ſtopt at ſuch Limitations of Conqueſt as the Treaty oblig'd him to do, we muſt have been under the ſame neceſſity to renew the War againſt France; and for this Reaſon, ſeeing we had made a Peace, we were oblig'd to bring the reſt of the Confederates into it, and to bring the French to give them all ſuch Terms as they ought to be ſatisfied with.

This way of Arguing was either ſo little Underſtood, or ſo much Malign'd, that I ſuf⯑fer'd innumerable Reproaches in Print, for having Written for a War with the Dutch, which was neither in the Expreſſion, or ever in my Imagination: But I paſs by theſe Inju⯑ries as ſmall and trifling compar'd to others I ſuffer under.

However one thing I muſt ſay of the Peace, Let it be Good or Ill in its ſelf, I cannot but think we have all reaſon to Rejoyce in behalf of his Preſent Majeſty, That at his acceſſion to the Crown, He found the Nation in Peace; and had the Hands of the King of France tied up by a Peace, ſo as not to be able, without the moſt infamous breach of Articles, to offer the leaſt Diſturbance to his taking a Quiet and Leiſurely poſſeſſion, or ſo much as to Countenance thoſe that would.

Not but that I believe, if the War had been at the height, we ſhould have been able to have preſerved the Crown for his preſent Majeſty, its only Rightful Lord: But I will not ſay it ſhould have been ſo Eaſy, ſo Blood⯑leſs, ſo Undiſputed as now, and all the Dif⯑ference [41] muſt be acknowledged to the Peace, and this is all the Good I ever yet ſaid of the Peace.

I come next to the general Clamour of the Miniſtry being for the Pretender; I muſt ſpeak my Sentiments ſolemnly and plainly, as I al⯑ways did in that matter, (viz.) That if it was ſo, I did not ſee it, nor did I ever ſee Reaſon to believe it; This I am ſure of, that if it was ſo, I never took one ſtep in that kind of Service, nor did I ever hear one Word ſpoken by any one of the Miniſtry that I had the Honour to know or Converſe with, that favour'd the Pretender: But have had the Honour to hear them all Proteſt that there was no Deſign to Oppoſe the Succeſſion of Hanover in the leaſt.

It may be Objected to me, That they might be in the Intereſt of the Pretender for all that: It is true they might; But that is nothing to me, I am not Vindicating their Conduct, but my own; as I never was Employ'd in any thing that way, ſo I do ſtill proteſt, I do not believe it was ever in their Deſign, and I have many Reaſons to confirm my Thoughts in that Caſe, which are not material to the preſent Caſe: But be that as it will, it is enough to me that I acted nothing in any ſuch Intereſt, neither did I ever Sin againſt the Proteſtant Succeſſion of Hanover in Thought, Word, or Deed; and if the Miniſtry did, I did not ſee it, or ſo much as ſuſpect them of it.

It was a Diſaſter to the Miniſtry, to be dri⯑ven to the Neceſſity of taking that Set of Men by the hand, who, no body can deny, were [42] in that Intereſt: But as the former Miniſtry anſwer'd, when they were charg'd with a De⯑ſign to overthrow the Church, becauſe they favour'd, joyn'd with, and were united to the Diſſenters; I ſay they anſwer'd, That they made uſe of the Diſſenters, but granted them no⯑thing (WHICH BY THE WAY WAS TOO TRUE:) So theſe Gentlemen Anſwer, That it is true, they made uſe of Jacobites, but did nothing for them.

But this by the by. Neceſſity is pleaded by both Parties for doing things which neither Side can juſtify. I wiſh both Sides would for ever avoid the Neceſſity of doing Evil; for certainly it is the worſt Plea in the World, and generally made uſe of for the worſt Things.

I have often lamented the Diſaſter which I ſaw, employing Jacobites, was to the late Mi⯑niſtry, and certainly it gave the greateſt Han⯑dle to the Enemies of the Miniſtry to fix that univerſal Reproach upon them of being in the Intereſt of the Pretender: But there was no Medium. The Whigs refuſed to ſhew them a ſafe Retreat, or to give them the leaſt Op⯑portunity to take any other Meaſures but at the Riſque of their own Deſtruction; and they ventur'd upon that Courſe, in hopes of being able to ſtand alone at laſt without help of ei⯑ther the one or the other, in which no doubt they were miſtaken.

However, in this Part, as I was always aſ⯑ſur'd, and have good Reaſon ſtill to believe, that her Majeſty was ſteady in the Intereſt of the Houſe of Hanover, and that nothing was [43] ever offer'd to me, or requir'd of me to the Prejudice of that Intereſt, On what Ground can I be reproach'd with the ſecret reſerv'd Deſigns of any, if they had ſuch Deſigns as I ſtill verily believe they had not?

I ſee there are ſome Men who would fain perſwade the World, that every Man that was in the Intereſt of the late Miniſtry, or em⯑ploy'd by the late Government, or that ſerv'd the late Queen, was for the Pretender.

God forbid this ſhould be true; and I think there needs very little to be ſaid in Anſwer to it. I can anſwer for my ſelf, that it is noto⯑riouſly falſe; and I think the eaſy and unin⯑terrupted Acceſſion of his Majeſty to the Crown contradicts it: I ſee no End which ſuch a Suggeſtion aims at, but to leave an Odi⯑um upon all that had any Duty or Regard to her late Majeſty.

A Subject is not always Maſter of his Sove⯑reign's Meaſures, nor always to examine what Perſons or Parties the Prince he ſerves Em⯑ploys; ſo be it that they break not in upon the Conſtitution; that they govern accord⯑ing to Law, and that he is employ'd in no illegal Act, or have nothing deſir'd of him in⯑conſiſtent with the Liberties and Laws of his Country: If this be not right, then a Servant of the King's is in a worſe Caſe than a Servant to any private Perſon.

In all theſe things I have not err'd, neither have I acted or done any thing in the whole Courſe of my Life, either in the Service of her Majeſty, or of her Miniſtry, that any one can ſay has the leaſt Deviation from the ſtricteſt [44] Regard to the Proteſtant Succeſſion, and to the Laws and Liberties of my Country.

I never ſaw an Arbitrary Action offer'd at, a Law diſpens'd with, Juſtice deny'd, or Op⯑preſſion ſet up, either by Queen or Miniſtry, in any Branch of the Adminiſtration, wherein I had the leaſt Concern.

If I have ſin'd againſt the Whigs, it has been all NEGATIVELY, (viz.) that I have not joyn'd in the loud Exclamations againſt the Queen, and againſt the Miniſtry, and againſt the Meaſures; and if this be my Crime, my Plea is twofold.

• 1. I did not really ſee Cauſe for carrying their Complaints to that violent Degree.
• 2. Where I did ſee what, as before, I la⯑mented and was ſorry for, and could not joyn with, or approve, as joyning with Jacobites, the Peace, &c. My Obligation is my Plea for my ſilence.

I have all the good Thoughts of the Perſon, and good Wiſhes for the Proſperity of my Benefactor, that Charity, and that Gratitude, can inſpire me with: I ever believ'd him to have the true Intereſt of the Proteſtant Reli⯑gion, and of his Country in his view; if it ſhould be otherwiſe, I ſhould be very ſorry. And I muſt repeat it again, that he always left me ſo entirely to my own Judgment in every thing I did, that he never preſcrib'd to me what I ſhould write, or ſhould not write in my Life; neither did he ever concern him⯑ſelf [45] to dictate to, or reſtrain me in any kind; nor did he ſee any one Tract that I ever wrote before it was Printed: So that all the Notion of my writing by his Direction, is as much a Slander upon him, as it is poſſible any thing of that kind can be; and if I have written any thing which is offenſive, unjuſt, or untrue, I muſt do that Juſtice as to declare, He has had no hand in it; the Crime is my own.

As the Reproach of his directing me to write, is a Slander UPON THE PERSON I am ſpeaking of; ſo that of my receiving Pen⯑ſions and Payments from him for writing, is a Slander UPON ME; and I ſpeak it with the greateſt Sincerity, Seriouſneſs, and So⯑lemnity that it is poſſible for a Chriſtian Man to ſpeak, That except the Appointment I men⯑tion'd before, which her Majeſty was pleas'd to make me formerly, and which I receiv'd during the time of my Lord Godolphin's Mi⯑niſtry, I have not receiv'd of the late Lord Treaſurer, or of any one elſe by his Order, Knowledge, or Direction, one Farthing, or the Value of a Farthing, during his whole Ad⯑miniſtration; nor has all the Intereſt I have been ſuppos'd to have in his Lordſhip, been able to procure me the Arrears due to me in the time of the other Miniſtry. SO HELP ME GOD.

I am under no Neceſſity of making this De⯑claration. The Services I did, and for which her Majeſty was pleas'd to make me a ſmall Allowance, are known to the greateſt Men in the preſent Adminiſtration; and ſome of them were then of the Opinion, and I hope [46] are ſo ſtill, that I was not unworthy of her Majeſty's Favour. The Effect of thoſe Ser⯑vices, however ſmall, are enjoy'd by thoſe Great Perſons, and by the whole Nation to this Day; and I had the Honour once to be told, That they ſhould never be forgotten. It is a Misfortune, that no Man can avoid, to for⯑feit for his Deference to the Perſon and Ser⯑vices of his Queen, to whom he was inex⯑preſſibly oblig'd: And if I am fallen under the Diſpleaſure of the PRESENT Government, for any thing I ever did in Obedience to her Majeſty in THE PAST, I may ſay it is my Diſaſter; but I can never ſay it is my Fault.

This brings me again to that other Oppreſſion which as I ſaid I ſuffer under, and which, I think, is of a Kind, that no Man ever ſuffer'd under ſo much as my ſelf: And this is to have every Libel, every Pamphlet, be it ever ſo fooliſh, ſo malicious, ſo unmannerly, or ſo dangerous, be laid at my Door, and be call'd publickly by my Name. It has been in vain for me to ſtrug⯑gle with this Injury; It has been in vain for me to proteſt, to declare ſolemnly, nay, if I would have ſworn that I had no hand in ſuch a Book, or Paper, never ſaw it, never read it, and the like, it was the ſame thing.

My Name has been hackney'd about the Street by the Hawkers, and about the Coffee-Houſes by the Politicians, at ſuch a rate, as no Patience could bear. One Man will ſwear to the Style; another to this or that Expreſſion; another to the Way of Printing; and all ſo poſitive, that it is to no purpoſe to oppoſe it.

[47] I publiſh'd once, to ſtop this way of uſing me, that I would Print nothing but what I ſet my Name to, and I held it for a Year or Two; but it was all one, I had the ſame Treatment. I now have reſolv'd, for ſome time, to write nothing at all; and yet I find it the ſame thing. Two Books lately pub⯑liſh'd being call'd mine, for no other reaſon that I know of, than that, at the Requeſt of the Printer, I reviſed two Sheets of them at the Preſs, and that they ſeem'd to be written in Favour of a certain Perſon; which Perſon alſo, as I have been aſſur'd, had no Hand in them, or any Knowledge of them, till they were publiſh'd in Print.

This is a Flail which I have no Fence againſt, but to complain of the Injuſtice of it, and that is but the ſhorteſt Way to be treated with more Injuſtice.

There is a mighty Charge againſt me for being Author and Publiſher of a Paper call'd, The MERCATOR. I'll ſtate the Fact firſt, and then ſpeak to the Subject.

It is true, that being deſir'd to give my Opinion in the Affair of the Commerce with France, I did, as I often had done in Print many Years before, declare, That it was my Opinion we ought to have an open Trade with France, becauſe I did believe we might have the Advantage by ſuch a Trade; and of this Opinion I am ſtill. What Part I had in the Mercator, is well known; and would Men Anſwer with Argument, and not with perſo⯑nal Abuſes, I would, at any time, defend eve⯑ry Part of the Mercator which was of my do⯑ing. [48] But to ſay the Mercator was mine, is falſe; I neither was the Author of it, had the Property of it, the Printing of it, or the Profit by it. I had never any Payment or Reward for writing any Part of it; Nor had I the Power to put what I would into it: Yet the whole Clamour fell upon me, becauſe they knew not who elſe to load with it. And when they came to Anſwer, the Method was, inſtead of Argument, to threaten, and reflect upon me; reproach me with private Circum⯑ſtances and Misfortunes, and give Language which no Chriſtian ought to give, and which no Gentleman ought to take.

I thought any Engliſhman had the Liberty to ſpeak his Opinion in ſuch things; for this had nothing to do with the Publick. The Preſs was open to me as well as to others; and how, or when I loſt my Engliſh Liberty of ſpeaking my Mind, I know not; neither how my ſpeak⯑ing my Opinion without Fee or Reward could authorize them to call me Villain, Raſcal, Tray⯑tor, and ſuch opprobious Names.

It was ever my Opinion, and is ſo ſtill, that were our Wooll kept from France, and our Ma⯑nufactures ſpread in France upon reaſonable Du⯑ties, all the Improvement which the French have made in Woolen Manufactures would de⯑cay, and in the End be little Worth, and con⯑ſequently the Hurt they could do us by them, would be of little Moment.

It was my Opinion, and is ſo ſtill, that the Ninth Article of the Treaty of Commerce was calculated for the Advantage of our Trade, let who will make it, that is nothing to me: My [49] Reaſons are, becauſe it TYED up the French to open the Door to our Manufactures at a certain Duty of Importation THERE, and left the Parliament of Britain at Liberty to ſhut theirs out by as high Duties as they pleas'd HERE, there being no Limitation upon us as to Duties on French Goods; but that other Na⯑tions ſhould pay the ſame.

While the French were thus bound, and the Britiſh free, I always thought we muſt be in a Condition to Trade to Advantage, or it muſt be our own Fault: This was my Opinion, and IS SO STILL, and I would venture to main⯑tain it againſt any Man upon a publick Stage, before a Jury of fifty Merchants, and venture my Life upon the Cauſe, if I were aſſured of fair Play in the Diſpute. But that it was my Opini⯑on, That we might carry on a Trade with France to our great Advantage, and that we ought for that reaſon to Trade with them, ap⯑pears in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Volume of the Reviews, above Nine Year before the Mercator was thought of; it was not thought Criminal to ſay ſo then, how it comes to be Villainous to ſay ſo now God knows, I can give no account of it; I am ſtill of the ſame Opinion, and ſhall never be brought to ſay o⯑therwiſe, unleſs I ſee the ſtate of Trade ſo altered, as to alter my Opinion; and if ever I do, I will be able to give good Reaſons for it.

The Anſwer to theſe things, whether mine or no, was all pointed at me, and the Arguments were generally in the Terms of Villain, Raſcal, Miſcreant, Lyer, Bankrupt, Fellow, Hireling, [50] Turn-Coat, &c. what the Arguments were better'd by theſe Methods, that I leave to others to Judge of. Alſo moſt of thoſe things in the Mercator, for which I had ſuch Uſage, were ſuch as I was not the Author of.

I do grant, had all the Books which have been called by my Name been written by me, I muſt of Neceſſity have exaſperated every Side, and perhaps have deſerved it; but I have the greateſt Injuſtice imaginable in this Treatment, as I have in the perverting the De⯑ſign of what really I have written. To ſum up therefore my Complaint in few Words:

I was from my firſt entring into the Know⯑ledge of publick Matters, and have ever been to this Day, a ſincere Lover of the Conſtitution of my Country; zealous for Liberty, and the Proteſtant Intereſt; but a conſtant Follower of moderate Principles, a vigorous Oppoſer of hot Meaſures in all Parties: I never once changed my Opinion, my Principles, or my Party; and let what will be ſaid of changing Sides, this I maintain, That I never once de⯑viated from the Revolution Principles, nor from the Doctrine of Liberty and Property, on which it was founded.

I own I could never be convinc'd of the great Danger of the PRETENDER, in the Time of the late Miniſtry: Nor can I be now convinc'd of the great Danger of the CHURCH under this Miniſtry. I believe the Cries of one was politically made uſe of then to ſerve other Deſigns; and I plainly ſee the like Uſe made of the other now. I ſpoke my Mind freely then, and I have done the like [51] now, in a ſmall Tract to that purpoſe not yet made publick; and which, if I live to publiſh, I will publickly own, as I purpoſe to do, every thing I write, that my Friends may know when I am abuſed, and they impos'd on.

It has been the Diſaſter of all Parties in this Nation to be very HOT in their Turn, and as often as they have been SO, I have differed with them all, and ever muſt and ſhall do ſo. I'll repeat ſome of the Occaſions on the Whigs Side, becauſe from that Quarter the Accuſation of my turning about comes.

The firſt Time I had the Misfortune to differ with my Friends, was about the Year 1683. when the Turks were beſieging Vi⯑enna, and the Whigs in England, generally ſpeak⯑ing, were for the Turks taking it; which I ha⯑ving read the Hiſtory of the Cruelty and per⯑fidious Dealings of the Turks in their Wars, and how they had rooted out the Name of the Chriſtian Religion in above Threeſcore and Ten Kingdoms, could by no means agree with: And tho' then but a young Man, and a younger Author, I oppoſed it, and wrote againſt it; which was taken very unkindly indeed.

The next Time I differed with my Friends was when King James was wheedling the Diſſenters to take off the Penal Laws and Teſt, which I could by no means come into: And as in the firſt I uſed to ſay, I had rather the Popiſh Houſe of Auſtria ſhould ruin the Proteſtants in Hungaria, than the Infidel Houſe of Ottoman ſhould ruin both Proteſtant and Papiſt, by over-running Germany; So in the [52] other, I told the Diſſenters I had rather th Church of England ſhould pull our Cloaths off by Fines and Forfeitures, than the Papiſts ſhould fall both upon the Church, and the Diſ⯑ſenters, and pull our Skins off by Fire and Fagot.

The next Difference I had with good Men, was about the ſcandalous Practice of Oc⯑caſional Conformity, in which I had the Misfor⯑tune to make many honeſt Men angry, rather becauſe I had the better of the Argument, than becauſe they diſliked what I ſaid.

And now I have lived to ſee the Diſſenters themſelves very quiet, if not very well pleaſed with an Act of Parliament to prevent it. Their [...]iends indeed laid it on; they would be Friends indeed if they would talk of taking it off again.

Again, I had a Breach with honeſt Men for their Male treating King William; of which I ſay nothing: Becauſe, I think, they are now opening their Eyes, and making what amends they can to his Memory.

The fifth Difference I had with them, was about the Treaty of Partition, in which many honeſt Men were miſtaken, and in which I told them plainly then, That they would at laſt End the War upon worſe Terms; and ſo it is my Opinion they would have done, tho' the Treaty of Gertrudenburgh had taken Place.

The ſixth Time I differed with them, was when the Old Whigs fell upon the Modern Whigs; and when the Duke of Marlborough and my Lord Godolphin were uſed by the Obſervator in a Manner worſe, I muſt confeſs for the Time it [53] laſted, than ever they were uſed ſince; nay, tho' it were by Abel and the Examiner: But the Succeſs failed. In this Diſpute my Lord Godolphin did me the Honour to tell me, I had ſerved him and his Grace alſo, both faithfully and ſucceſsfully. But his Lordſhip is Dead, and I have now no Teſtimony of it but what is to be found in the Obſervator, where I am plenti⯑fully abuſed for being an Enemy to my Coun⯑try, by acting in the Intereſt of my Lord Go⯑dolphin, and the Duke of Marlborough: What Weather-Cock can Turn with ſuch Tempers as theſe!

I am now in the ſeventh Breach with them, and my Crime now is, That I will not believe and ſay the ſame things of the Queen, and the late Treaſurer, which I could not believe be⯑fore of my Lord Godolphin, and the Duke of Marlborough, and which in Truth I cannot believe, and therefore could not ſay it of either of them; and which, if I had believed, yet I ought not to have been the Man that ſhould have ſaid it, for the Reaſons aforeſaid.

In ſuch Turns of Tempers and Times a Man muſt be tenfold a Vicar of Bray, or it is impoſſible but he muſt one Time or other be out with every Body. This is my preſent Condition, and for this I am reviled with having abandon'd my Principles, turn'd Jaco⯑bite, and what not: God Judge between me and theſe Men. Would they come to any Particulars with me, what real Guilt I may have I would freely acknowledge; and if they would produce any Evidence, of the Bribes, the Penſions, and the Rewards I have taken, [54] I would declare honeſtly, whether they were true or no. If they would give a Liſt of the Books which they charge me with, and the Reaſons why they lay them at my Door, I would acknowledge any Miſtake, own what I have done, and let them know what I have not done. But theſe Men neither ſhew Mercy, or leave place for Repentance, in which they act not only unlike their Maker, but contrary to his expreſs Commands.

It is true, good Men have been uſed thus in former times; and all the Comfort I have is, that theſe Men have not the laſt Judgment in their Hands, if they had, dreadful would be the Caſe of thoſe who oppoſe them. But that Day will ſhew many Men and Things alſo in a different State from what they may now ap⯑pear in; ſome that now appear clear and fair, will then be ſeen to be black and foul; and ſome that are now thought black and foul, will then be approved and accepted; and thither I chear⯑fully appeal, concluding this Part in the Words of the Prophet, I heard the Defaming of many; Fear on every ſide; Report, ſay they, and we will Report it; All my Familiars watch'd for my halting, ſaying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we ſhall prevail againſt him, and we ſhall take our Revenge on him, Jerem. 20. 10.

Mr. Pool's Annotations has the following Re⯑marks on theſe Lines, which, I think, are ſo much to that Part of my Caſe which is to follow, that I could not omit them. His Words are theſe.

‘'The Prophet, ſays he, here rendreth a Reaſon why he thought of giving over his Work as a [55] Prophet; his Ears were continually filled with the Obloquies and Reproaches of ſuch as reproached him; and beſides, lie was afraid on all Hands, there were ſo many Traps laid for him, ſo many Deviſes deviſed againſt him. They did not only take Advan⯑tage againſt him, but ſought Advantages, and invited others to raiſe Stories of him. Not only Strangers, but thoſe that he might have expected the greateſt Kindneſs from; thoſe that pretended moſt courteouſly, they watch, ſays he, for opportunities to do me Miſchief, and lay in wait for my Halting, deſiring nothing more than that I might be enticed to ſpeak, or do ſomething which they might find Mat⯑ter of a colourable Accuſation, that ſo they might ſatisfie their Malice upon me. This hath always been the Genius of wicked Men; Job and David, both made Complaints much like this.'’ Theſe are Mr. Pool's Words.

And this leads me to ſeveral Particulars, in which my Caſe may, without any Arrogance, be likened to that of the Sacred Prophet; ex⯑cept only the vaſt Diſparity of the Perſons.

No ſooner was the Queen Dead, and the King as Right required, proclaim'd, but the Rage of Men encreaſed upon me to that Degree, that the Threats and Inſults I receiv'd were ſuch as I am not able to expreſs: If I offered to ſay a word in favour of the preſent Settle⯑ment, it was called fawning and turning round again; on the other hand, tho' I have meddled neither one way or other, nor written one Book ſince the Queen's Death, yet a great ma⯑ny things are call'd by my Name, and I bear [56] every Day the Reproaches which all the An⯑ſwerers of thoſe Books caſt as well upon the Sub⯑ject as the Authors. I have not ſeen or ſpoken to my Lord of Oxford but once ſince the King's Landing, nor receiv'd the leaſt Meſſage, Order, or Writing from his Lordſhip, or any other way Correſponded with him, yet he bears the Reproach of my Writing in his Defence, and I the Rage of Men for doing it. I cannot ſay it is no Affliction to me to be thus uſed, tho' my being entirely clear of the Facts, is a true ſupport to me.

I am unconcerned at the Rage and Clamour of Party-men; but I can not be unconcern'd to hear Men, who I think are good Men and good Chriſtians, prepoſſeſs'd and miſtaken about me: However I cannot doubt but ſome time or other It will pleaſe God to open ſuch Mens Eyes. A conſtant, ſteady adhering to Per⯑ſonal Vertue, and to Publick Peace, which, I thank God, I can appeal to him, has always been my Practice; will AT LAST reſtore me to the Opinion of Sober and Impartial Men, and that is all I deſire: What it will do with thoſe who are reſolutely Partial and Un⯑juſt I cannot ſay, neither is that much my Concern. But I cannot forbear giving one Example of the hard Treatment I receive, which has happened, even while I am Writing this Tract: I have ſix Children, I have Edu⯑cated them as well as my Circumſtances will permit, and ſo as I hope ſhall recommed them to better Uſage than their Father meets with in the World. I am not indebted One Shil⯑ling in the World for any part of their Edu⯑cation, [57] or for any thing elſe belonging to bringing them up; yet the Author of the Flying-Poſt Publiſhed lately, That I never pay'd for the Education of any of my Chil⯑dren. If an Man in Britain has a Shilling to demand of me for any part of their Educa⯑tion, or any thing belong to them, let them come for it.

But theſe Men care not what Injurious Things they Write, nor what they Say, whe⯑ther Truth or Not, if it may but raiſe a Re⯑proach on me, tho' it were to be my Ruine. I may well Appeal to the Honour and Juſtice of my worſt Enemies in ſuch Caſes as this.