swer the trust of them. And such a conscience have I had 'in this matter;' and still have; and therefore when I thought I had an opportunity to make an Answer, I made that Answer [The unemphatic Negative; truest "Answer" Highness then had: can it not grow an Affirmative?] and am a person that have been, before and then and since, lifting up my heart to God, To know what might be my duty at such a time as this, and upon such an occasion and trial as this was to me! [Deep silence: Old Parliament casts down its eyes.] Truly, Mr. Speaker, it hath been heretofore, I think, a matter of philosophical discourse, That great places, great authority, are a great burden. I know it so. And I know a man that is convinced in his conscience, Nothing less will enable him to the discharge of it than Assistance from Above. And it may very well require in such a one, so convinced and so persuaded, That he be right with the Lord in such an undertaking! And therefore, to speak very clearly and plainly to you: I had, and I have, my hesitations as to that individual thing. [Still Negative, your Highness?] If I undertake anything not in Faith, I shall serve you in and I shall then be the most unmy own Unbelief; profitable Servant that People or Nation ever had! Give me leave, therefore, to ask counsel. I am ready to render a reason of my apprehensions; which haply may be overswayed by better apprehensions. I think, so far I have deserved no blame; nor do I take it you will lay any upon me. Only you mind me of the duty that is incumbent upon me. And truly the same answer I have as to the point of duty one way, the same consideration have I as to duty another way. I would * * Bound to regard your "Advice;" and yet in doing so, not to diaregard a Higher. - not urge to you the point of "Liberty." Surely you have provided for Liberty, I have borne my witness. to it, Civil and Spiritual! The greatest provision that ever was made have you made, 'for Liberty' to all, and I know that you do not intend to exclude me. The "Liberty" I ask is, To vent my own doubts, and my own fears, and my scruples. And though haply, in such cases as these are, the world hath judged that a man's conscience ought to know no scruples; yet surely mine doth, and I dare not dissemble. And therefore! They that are knowing in the ground of their own Action will be best able to measure advice to others. [Will have us reason, in Free Conference, with him?] There are many things in this 'Instrument of' Government besides that one of the Name and Title, that deserve much to be elucidated* as to my judgment. It is you that can capacitate me to receive satisfaction in them! Otherwise, I say truly, I must say, I am not persuaded to the performance of 'this' as my trust and duty, nor 'sufficiently' informed. 'Not persuaded or informed;' and so not actuated 'by a call of duty,' as I know you intend I should be, and as every man in the Nation should be. You have provided for 'every one of them as a Free Man, as a man that is to act possibly,** rationally and conscientiously! And therefore I cannot tell what other return to make to you than this: I am ready to give a reason, if you will, I say, capacitate me to do it; and 'capacitate' yourselves to receive it; and to do what other things may in "deserve much information," in orig. ** Means "in a way possible for him;" "does possibly" is the phrase in form me a little more particularly than this Vote which you have passed Yesterday, and which has now been read by you to me. Truly I hope when 'once' I understand the ground of these things the whole being 'meant' neither for your good nor mine, but for the good of the Nation,there will be no doubt but we may, even in these particulars, find out what* may answer our duty. Mine, and all our duties, to those whom we serve. And this is that that I do, with a great deal of affection and honour and respect, offer now to you.§ Thus has the Honourable House gone a second time in a body, and not yet prevailed. We gather that his Highness has doubts, has scruples; on which, however, he is willing to be dealt with, "to receive satisfaction," — has intimated, in fact, that though the answer is still No, the Courtship may continue. Committee to give satisfaction is straightway nominated: Whitlocke, Lord Chief-Justice Glynn, Lord Broghil, Fiennes, Old-Speaker Lenthall, Ninety-nine of them in all; ** and is ready to confer with his Highness. At this point, however, there occurs an extraneous Phenomenon which unexpectedly delays us for a day or two: a rising of the Fifth-Monarchy, namely. The Fifth-Monarchy, while men are meditating earthly Kingship, and Official Persons are about appointing an earthly tyrannous and traitorous King, thinks it ought to bestir itself, now or never; - explodes accordingly, though in a small way; testifying to us how electric this element of England now is. Thursday 9th April. The Fifth-Monarchy, headed mainly, by one Venner a Wine-Cooper, and other civic individuals of the old Feak-and-Powel species whom we have transiently "those things" in orig. Old Pamphlet (in Parliamentary History, xxiii., Appendix, pp. 164-6). seen emitting soot and fire before now, has for a long while been concocting underground; and Thurloe and his Highness have had eye on it. The Fifth-Monarchy has decided that it will rise this Thursday, expel carnal sovereignties; and call on the Christian population to introduce a Reign of Christ, which it is thought, if a beginning were once made, they will be very forward to do. Let us rendezvous on Mile-End Green this day, with sword and musket, and assured heart: perhaps General Harrison, Colonel Okey, one knows not who, will join us, — perhaps a miracle will be wrought, such as Heaven might work in such a case, and the Reign of Christ actually take effect. Alas, Heaven wrought no miracle: Heaven and his Highness sent a Troop of Horse into the Mile-End region, early in the morning; seized Venner, and some Twenty Ringleaders, just coming for the rendezvous; seized chests of arms, many copies of a flaming Pamphlet or War-manifesto with title A Standard set up; seized also a War-flag with Lion Couchant painted on it, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and this motto, "Who shall rouse him up?" O Reader, these are not fictions, these were once altogether solid facts in this brick London of ours; ancient resolute individuals, busy with wine-cooperage and otherwise, had entertained them as very practicable things! But in two days time, these ancient individuals and they are all lodged in the Tower; Harrison, hardly connected with the thing, except as a wellwisher, he and others are likewise made secure: and the Fifth-Monarchy is put under lock and key.* Nobody was tried for it: Cooper Venner died on the scaffold, for a similar attemps under Charles Second, some two years hence. The Committee of Ninetynine can now proceed with its "satisfaction to his Highness;" his Highness is now at leisure for them again. This Committee did proceed with its satisfactions; had various Conferences with his Highness, which unfortunately are not lost: which survive for us, in Somers Tracts and the old * Narrative in Thurloe, vi. 184-8. Pamphlets, under the Title of Monarchy Asserted; in a condition, especially his Highness's part of them, enough to drive any Editor to despair! The old Pamphleteer, as we remarked, was intent only on the learned law-arguments in favour of Kingship; and as to what his Highness said, seems to have taken it very easy; printing what vocables he found on his Note-paper, with or without meaning, as it might chance. Whom new unchecked Printers and Imaginary-Editors following, and making the matter ever worse, have produced at last in our late time such a Coagulum of Jargon as was never seen before in the world! Let us not speak of it; let us endeavour to get through it, through this also, now since we have arrived at it, and are not yet permitted to burn it! Out of this sad monument of Human Stupor too the imprisoned Soul of a Hero must be extricated. Souls of Heroes, they have been imprisoned, enchanted into growing Trees, into glass Phials, into leaden Caskets sealed with Solomon's signet, and sunk in the deep sea; but to this of Somers Tracts there wants yet a parallel! Have not we English a talent of musical utterance? Here are men consummating the most epic of acts, Choosing their King; and it is with such melodious elegancies that they do it; it is in such soft-flowing hexameters as the following that the Muse gives record of it! My reader must be patient; thankful for mere Dulness, thankful that it is not Madness over and above. Let us all be patient; walk gently, swiftly, lest we awaken the sleeping: Nightmares! We suppress, we abridge, we elucidate; struggle to make legible his Highness's words, dull but not insane. Notes where not indispensable are not given. The curious reader can, in all questionable places, refer to the Printed Coagulum of Jargon itself, and see whether we have read aright. SPEECH X. PROPERLY an aggregate of many short Speeches, and passages of talk: his Highness's part in this First Conference with the Committee of Ninety-nine. His Highness's part in |