K. James. Didst thou desire the death of thy aged prince? I could not long have lived by nature's course, must poison needs dispatch me? But proceed, Eglisham, give us the circumstances briefly, how and in what manner I was poisoned by Buckingham.

Eglish. Then thus, my liege, your highness being sick of an ague, and in the spring, which is no deadly disease, Buckingham, when your doctors of physick were at dinner, on the Monday before your death, offered you a white powder to take; you refused it, but, after his much importunity, took it, and thereupon you grew extreme sick, crying out against that white powder, and the countess of Buckingham. Buckingham's mother applied a plaister to the King's heart and breast, whereby all the physicians said that he was poisoned; but Buckingham threat ened the physicians, and quarrelled with them, and Buckingham's mother fell down on her knees, and desired justice against those that had said that her son and she had poisoned your Majesty. Poisoned me, said you, and with that, King James, you turned yourself, swooned and died. Buckingham, as before, made a dissembling shew that he was sorry for the King's death, which was nothing so; for he was nothing moved at all, during his sickness, nor after his death. To conclude, the dead body of King James, like as Marquis Hamilton's corps, swelled above all measure, their hair came off, and their nails became loose: Now thereupon, upon these proofs, in presence of the King and marquis, confess thyself guilty, for, Buckingham, thou wert both a murderer and a traitor.

K. James. Buckingham, what canst thou alledge for thyself? Did not I end many differences and jealousies between my son Charles and thee, and compose many fractions? Did not I, when ill language issued from thee, insomuch that blows were struck, and swords drawn in my presence, to the jeopardy of thy life, cry, save my George, save my George? Did I not love thee, Buckingham, as if thou hadst been my dearest son ? Made thee, from a low beginning, rise so fast, that thy sudden growth in honour was envied at the court? Hadst thou poisoned some other man, thy soul had not been half so black or foul; thou mightest have been compelled to it by envy, or else transported by some cruel passion, or urged thereunto by jealous fears, to make away thy enemy; but to kill him that was thy gracious prince, whose favour had created thee Duke, and gave thee honours far above desert; it was the highest step of base ingratitude. O Buckingham, go and lament thy sins, and here, to ease thy troubled mind, confess unto me, didst thou poison thy master King James, shew me why, and for what reason thou didst it.

Bucking. First, your Majesty began to decline your wonted affection to me, and likewise to be very jealous of all my actions and sayings. Secondly, your Majesty, was stricken in years, and grew intemperate, and a burden to yourself and to your people, and they sick of an old government, and desiring a new change. Thirdly, had I not undertaken it, I could not have stood a favourite to a succeeding King, nor been so eminent in the court.

K. James. Who were actors besides thyself in this hellish plot?

Bucking. Many more besides myself, whom I dare not reveal as

yet; but time shall produce them, and their foul actions. Şir, I desire your pardon; I did contrive your death by poison, but I have paid full justice for it, since my conscience hath been my judge and exe

cutioner.

K. James. Let princes learn from thee, never to trust a favourite : But what dost thou answer to the accusation of poisoning the Marquis of Hamilton?

Bucking. This Dr. Eglisham hath spoke all truth, and proved, by many circumstances, that I procured his death by poison; I know that I am guilty, but cannot more be punished; furies of conscience do torment my soul, and I have no hope of ease until you seal my pardon, and say you can forgive me, for I, George, Duke of Buckingham, poisoned King James, and the Marquis of Hamilton.

Eglish. And, lastly, for fear that I George Eglisham should discover you, as I have now done, to be the poisoner, I was sought to be murdered, but I fled into Holland; and there, by your appointment, I was stabbed and killed.

Bucking. I do acknowledge that my mortal hatred unto thee was great; and I acknowledge myself guilty too of thy death, Dr. Eglisham.

K. James. Then, Buckingham, thou wast to me a most ungrate ful traitor.

Marq. of Hamilton. To me a cunning and dissembling poisoner. Bucking. I suffer for it now, for heaven is just: Farewell, I'll go and weep for grief.

MURDER will out, and just revenge, though slow,
Doth overtake the murderer, this I know,
Whose passages of life, and shining glory,
Might be compil'd into a tragick story.
For, before Felton did my life conclude,
I added murder to ingratitude;
Never did weeping penitent confess
With greater sorrow; Oh I did transgress
Against the laws of nature, that would have
Subjects defend good kings, not dig their graves.
The voice of murder she doth upward fly,
And unto heaven doth for vengeance cry;
And you, good king, were gracious to that man,
Whose ghost you see, the Duke of Buckingham.
But I was most ungrateful to my king,
And Marquis Hamilton, whom I did bring
Both to untimely deaths, forgive my sin.
Great king, great marquis, doctor Eglisham,
All murder'd by the Duke of Buckingham.
Forgive me all, and pardon me, I pray;
This being said, the duke's ghost shrunk away.

A WORTHY SPEECH,

SPOKEN IN THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

By Sir Benjaman Rudyard,

FOR ACCOMMODATION,

BETWIXT HIS MAJESTY AND HIS PARLIAMENT.

JULY THE NINTH, 1642.

July 18. Printed for Richard Lownds, 1642. Quarto, containing eight pages.

IN

Mr. Speaker,

the way we are, we have gone as far as words can carry us: We have voted our own rights, and the king's duty: No doubt there is a relative duty between a king and his subjects; obedience from a subject to a king, protection from a king to his people. The present unhappy distance, between his Majesty and the parliament, makes the whole kingdom stand amazed, in a fearful expectation of dismal calamities to fall upon it: It deeply and conscionably concerns this house to compose and settle these threatening, ruining distractions. Mr. Speaker, I am touched, I am pierced with an apprehension of the honour of the house, and success of this parliament. The best way to give a stop to these desperate, imminent mischiefs, is, to make a fair way for the king's return hither; it will likewise give best satisfaction to the people, and will be our best justification. Mr. Speaker, that we may the better consider the condition we are now in, let us set ourselves three years back: If any man then could have credibly told us, that, within three years, the queen shall be gone out of England into the Low Countries for any cause whatsoever; the king shall remove from his parliament, from London to York, declaring himself not to be safe here; that there shall be a total rebellion in Ireland, such discords and distempers both in church and state here, as now we find ; certainly we should have trembled at the thought of it; wherefore it is fit we should be sensible now we are in it.

On the other side, if a man then could have credibly told us, that, within three years, ye shall have a parliament, it would have been good

news; that ship-money shall be taken away by an act of parliament, the reasons and grounds of it so rooted out, as that neither it, nor any thing like it, can ever grow up again; that monopolies, the high-commission court, the Star-chamber, the bishops' votes shall be taken away, the council-table regulated and restrained, the forests bounded and limited; that ye shall have a triennial parliament, and, more than that, a perpetual parliament, which none shall have power to dissolve without yourselves, we should have thought this a dream of happiness; yet, now we are in the real possession of it, we do not enjoy it, although his Majesty hath promised and published he will make all this good to us: We stand chiefly upon further security, whereas the very having of these things is a convenient, fair security, mutually securing one another; there is more security offered, even in this last answer of the king's, by removing the personal votes of popish lords, and by the better education of papists children, by supplying the defects of laws against recusants, besides what else may be enlarged and improved by a select committee of both houses named for that purpose. Wherefore, Sir, let us beware we do not contend for such a hazardous unsafe security, as may endanger the loss of what we have already; let us not think we have nothing, because we have not all we desire; and, though we had, yet we cannot make a mathematical security: All human caution is susceptible of corruption and failing; God's providence will not be bound, success must be his: He, that observes the wind and rain, shall neither sow nor reap; if he do nothing, till he can secure the weather, he will have but an ill harvest.

Mr. Speaker, it now behoves us to call up all the wisdom we have about us, for we are at the very brink of combustion and confusion: If blood once begin to touch blood, we shall presently fall into a certain misery, and must attend an uncertain success, God knows when, and God knows what. Every man here is bound in conscience to employ his uttermost endeavours to prevent the effusion of blood: Blood is a crying sin, it pollutes a land; let us save our liberties, and our estates, as we may save our souls too. Now I have clearly delivered mine own conscience, I leave every man freely to his.

TWO SPEECHES

SPOKEN BY

THE EARL OF MANCHESTER AND JOHN PYM, ESQ.

AS A REPLY TO HIS MAJESTY'S ANSWER

TO THE

CITY OF LONDON'S PETITION,

SENT FROM HIS MAJESTY.

By Capt. Hearne, and read at the Common Hall, on Friday, the Thirteenth of January, 1642.

ALSO,

A TRUE NARRATION OF THE PASSAGES OF THAT DAY.

Ordered by the Commons in Parliament, that these Speeches be forthwith printed and published. H. Elsing, Cler. Parl. D. Com.

London, printed for John Norman, for the Good of the Commonwealth, 1642. Quarto, containing eight pages.

Y

A Speech, delivered by the Earl of Manchester.

My Lord Mayor and gentlemen, you of the City of London, this assembly can never be looked upon by any members of both houses of parliament, but there must be some offering of gratitude made to you, both of thanks and acknowledgment, for your former large-hearted expressions both of affection and care for the preservation both of the parliament and kingdom. The occasion, why my lords and these gentlemen of the house of commons are come hither, is this: They have read an answer to an humble petition of the Lord Mayor and common-council and citizens of London to his Majesty; in which answer they find many wounding aspersions cast upon persons of very eminent authority in your city, and upon others of very great fidelity and trust among you; this answer they do find, as it is printed, to agree with that, which the gentleman from his Majesty hath here read; and they, owning themselves equally interested (in all things that concern you) with you, have commanded this gentleman to make some observa◄ tions, by way of vindication, both of the proceedings of both houses of parliament, and of the proceedings of the city, with this assurance,