A perfect declaration of the barbarous and cruell practises committed by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in His Majesties army, from the time of the Kings going from his Parliament untill this present day ... together with the new oaths and blasphemous speeches they doe daily invent ... : also, a justification of Prince Robert his cruelties ... / collected by R. Andrewes ...

A perfect declaration of the barbarous and cruell practises committed by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in His Majesties army, from the time of the Kings going from his Parliament untill this present day ... together with the new oaths and blasphemous speeches they doe daily invent ... : also, a justification of Prince Robert his cruelties ... / collected by R. Andrewes ...

Table of contents

Title page

A perfect Declaration of the barbarous and cruell practiſes committed by prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in his Majeſties Army, &c.

A perfect Declaration of the barbarous and cruell practiſes committed by prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in his Majeſties Army, &c.

[Page]

NOt to paralell the preſent diſtractions of England with the Warrs of Germany, which were no diſpa [...]y, I ſhall onely apply my ſelfe to ſet forth the truth of ſuch carnages that have happened ſince the beginning of theſe preſent warres by reaſon of the cruelty and inſolency of the Cavalliers that are in his Majeſties Army, and becauſe I have not to multiply diſcourſe or to ſpend time in relating thoſe things which are not ſo pertinent to my preſent purpoſe. I will not ſtand to particularize the faire promiſes and pretences wherewith thoſe that have bin chiefly intruſted by his Majeſty have deluded and deceived the people nor the trai [...]us practiſes of thoſe that have pretended good to the King and Country, as that of Colonell Goring betraying the Town of Portſmouth, under the ſpecious vizard of ſome ſpeciall ſervice to be done for the King and Parliament; but to give a true relation of thoſe bloudy & cruell practiſes that have bin committed by the Cavalliers, whoſe wicked enterpriſes have not onely purchaſed them hatred and diſdaine in thoſe places where they have bin▪ but render them odious to the whole world.

I ſhall begin with that barbarous and inhumane act committed by the Cavalliers at Leiceſter, where after they had gotten entrance into the Towne, and falling on plundering and pillaging thereof and when there was no man oppoſed them they ſeemed as fierce as Lions, and ſwore damme me and ſinke me if we doe not kill all the Puritans and Round-heads in the towne. There was a good Religious honeſt woman named Iane White, that hearing them ſo notoriouſly to ſweare and blaſpheame began to reprove them for it, offering no manner of reſiſtance unto them: whereupon one of this wicked rabble ſhot her with a brace of bullets thorough the back and belly, upon which ſhe immediatly dyed; ſhe being great with child [...] and within three weekes of the time of her delivery, and burnt many honeſt mens houſes which did refuſe to make diviſion, and to ſeparate the King and the Parliament, and plundred ſir Edward Roodes his houſe in York-ſhire, and afterwards burnt it downe to the ground, and tooke away all his Goods, killed one of his Servants, and violently uſed others, and the like inſolencies have they committed by pillaging, burning and ſpoyling in every Country where they come, ſetting on fire whole fields of Corne immediatly before Harveſt: as at Broad-way, when ſir William Walter was juſtly apprehended there by one Maſter Steevens that was chiefe Conſtable: When the Cavalliers came from Oxford they reſcued away the ſaid ſir William Walter▪ and burnt the Corne-fields of the ſaid Maſter Steevens, and attempted to fire his Houſes and would moſt cruelly have put him to death if they could have come at [Page] him; and ſince they have taken the ſaid Maſter Steevens priſoner, where hee is d [...] [...]yned with hard and cruell uſage: And in Leiceſter-ſhire and Stafford-ſhire they ſpoyled his Majeſties good ſubjects, and many were murthered and barbarouſly uſed, raviſhing of women, and bloudily killing others, not ſparing thoſe that were great with child, nor pittying poore little infants: nay ſuch was their inhumanity that at the late Battell fought neere Kynton, when they ſaw they were not able to revenge their malice upon the Parliaments Army: they left fighting with Souldiers and fled about the Country, killing of men women and children that were altogether unable to defend themſelves, killing any living creature that they met with; for they ſlew the very Doggs and all, and as if the moſt cruell and mercileſſe of this Nation could not invent cruelties anſwerable to their bloudy minds: they doe entertaine into their Army a great number of the Iriſh Rebells, whereof are great ſtore of Iriſh women, which pillage and rob in the Countries where they come worſe than the Souldiers, and are more cruell and mercileſſe than they: and at the Battell at Kynton did not onely get the beſt pillage of the dead Corpes at the time when the battell was a fighting; but thoſe that they found wounded or maymed that they were not able to get off from the place (although otherwiſe might have recovered▪ they moſt cruelly cut their throates with great Knives which they carry for that purpoſe, or elſe knocked out their braines with their Pole-axes.

When the Cavalliers were at Shrewsbury they plundred moſt of the honeſt mens houſes both in that Towne and Country adjacent, and tooke their Cattell, and did drive them to their quarters, and what they could not eate they drove to ſome other places and there ſold them, and when they had made a prey of all that they could meete with about Shrewsbury, they played the like prankes at Bridg-north, and other places thereabouts, and at their going away out of that Country, beſides what hurt they did at Kittermaſter and Bewdly, which bought their freedome at a very deare rate; they carried away with them all the Butter, Cheeſe, Bacon and other proviſions they could find, which hath bred a great ſcarcity thereof.

From thence they went to a Town called Burmegam in Warwickſhire, where without any reſpect of perſons they fell to plunder the whole Town, and took all the money, plate, and other things that were of any value that they could finde, and not being content therewith▪ they came to diverſe perſons of ability (which by reaſon of their forwardneſſe to give them entertainment▪ and ſhewing them friendſhip [...] expected other uſage at their hands) and held their piſtols charged againſt their breaſts, with many wicked imprications, that if they confeſſed not where the reſt of their monie was, they would ſhoot them thorough; by which means they got the whole wealth of that Town, and ſpoiled their [...] of houſhold- [...] and other things which they were not able to cary away with them, and ſo left in a [...]ble condition: and yet their wicked deſires to do miſchief not being ſatisfied▪ they made an attempt to fire the whole Towne; but by reaſon that they were ſuddanely put to fight through feare of the Parliaments Forces which were marching after them, they went away unſatisfied in that particular.

[Page] In York when they had continued long in that City, and exceedingly impoveriſhed the inhabitants taking all the proviſion that was in the City, and drinking out both beere and wine without giving any ſatisfaction for the ſame, at laſt they fel to plundering and pillaging the City, and plundered a great part thereof, and impriſoned thoſe that withſtood them, threatning to kill divers of the [...]eſt Miniſters. When they came to Banbury, although his Majeſtie himſelfe gave his hand and Seale to the Major that no injury nor violence ſhould be offered to that Town to any of his Subjects, yet ſuch was the barbarous carriage of the Cavalliers at that Town, that without charity or reſpect of the Kings honour, having engaged his word to the contrary, they plunered the whole Towne, taking from thence not only money, plate, jewels, and other things of good value which they found in their houſes, but took their Catell, horſe, ſheepe, &c. and carryed them away, and alſo tooke away the cloath and other commodities that were in Tradeſ-mens ſhops, to the ruine and deſtruction of the Inhabitants, ſaying that the King doth not know the condition and ſtate of War; and likewſe have plundered the Lord Say his houſe there, leaving nothing but the walls, drove away his Cattell, deſtroyed his Deere, and ſuch as they could not kill, they plucked downe the pales to let them out: At Abington it was not ſufficient to plunder the Towne, after they had gotten a great ſum of contribution money, and to leave the Inhabitants in as naked a condition as they did thoſe at Banbury, but there being an honeſt man of good repute, William Wright in the ſaid Towne, that before the Cavalliers came thither, gave counſell and advice to the reſt of the Inhabitants to ſtand up on their guard, and oppoſe them, and thereby to keepe the ſaid Towne from violence and oppreſſion: And that the Ammunition that was in that Towne might be ſecured out of their hands, that ſo it might not be employed againſt the Parliament. By the ſpeciall command of Prince Robert this perſon was condemned by martiall Law, and banged up at his own doore: ſuch is the bloody mind of Prince Robert, that it would make any Chriſtian mans heart to ake, to think of it, for as he was begot in the heate of a bloody war, ſo he lives and hopes to thrive by his bloody practiſes: But the neerer their approach is towards London, the more ſad demonſtrations we ſhall finde concerning this ſubject. Then they began to burne houſes, the pillaging of goods will not ſuffice, nor the like enormities which [...]efore is rela [...]e, but the violating of all lawes both humane and divine.

Two Gentlemen of good repute being travelling from London into the Countrey, were taken in their way at Hounſloe at the ſigne of the Kathern-wheel by the Cavalliers, who had been forraging up and down the Countrey to ſee what booty and pillage they could get, who violently broke into the chamber where they were, and when they had taken them priſoners they haſted into the ſtable and ſeized on their horſes and forced theſe Gentle-men to ride behind two of them to Eggham, and there they found Prince Robert, who had made a Vow, never to vndreſſe nor ſhift himſelfe till he had brought King Charles to white-hall; and being examined by him it was laid to one of theſe Gentle-mens charge that his wife was a Round-head, and if they had her there preſent, they did ſweare they would hang her, and it was alleadged [Page] againſt the other that he was a Preacher in a tub, but nothing being proved they were carried to the Court of Guard, and a Captaine that was a French man had the charge over them, who ſet them in ſuch a ſmoky chimney, that they were almoſt quite choaked, yet they durſt not ſtir for a ſtrong guard was ſet over them which threatned, and ſwore God damme them, they would piſtoll them.

And that night Prince Robert being to march to Hounſloe, theſe Gentlemen (rather out of their cruelty, or to make them merry then otherwiſe) were made their conducts, and following them with piſtols, they ſwore that if they led them but a yard out of the way they immediately would ſhoos them. And they were not ſuffered to eate or drinke one drop, though they offered to pay for it, and were ready to ſtarve for cold & hunger, but were purſued with reproachfull words, as lead on lead on, you Parliament dogs, we will hang you in chaines, as we did your friend [...]lague and ſuch other Round-headed raſcalls we will piſtoll you, &c. and were driven on with many other priſoners, being coupled with cords two and two together,

The 28. day of this month was apprehended a Gentleman clothed in very good habit, and hanged in a with upon a Tree, for ſaying he was for the King and Parliament, and for ſpeaking in honour of the Parliament; and no man ſuffered to cutt him downe or cover his face untill he had been made a publique ſpectacle to the whole Army. At a towne called Iſtle-worth the Cavalliers tooke an other honeſt Religious man called good man Bray, who becauſe he ſaid he was for the King and Parliament, they moſt inhumanly d [...]d cart of his Eares and gave him beſides thirty woundes in his body, and not being content with this Butchery they threw him after wards on the Dunghill; with this moſt unchriſtian ſcoffe, Let the doggs licke him whole. They tooke another in the ſame towne who flying from their fury got into a houſe, and having barred faſt the gate, his wife comming he was enforced to open it for her; and the Cavalliers ruſhing violently in after her faſtned a coard upon his feet and dragged him about the ſtreetes, and being weary of their owne cruelty: they ſaid why ſhould we weary our ſelves any longer with this Parliament dog; and ſo diſcharged three piſtolls at him, and ſo eaſed him of his torments, and his life together.

When the Cavalliers came to Brainford about five thouſand of them, with many peeces of Ord [...]ance fell upon Collonell Hollis his Regiment, being all that were quartred at that towne, who fought very couragiouſly before they would yeeld to their mercileſſe cruelty, inſomuch that the Cavalliers ſaid that they were either Saints or D [...]vills: for if they could have done execution upon any thing [...]able the great vollies of ſhotte they beſtowed upon they had quickly killed every man of them in the place, but after many houres fight having taken many of them priſoners they put them in a pound and pinnioned them together being ſtript to their ſhirts and without stockings or ſhooes and the next day drove them like ſheep▪ whipping them like dogs to Hounſloe over furrs and buſhes, which was more torment than of death it ſelfe. And ſome of Collonell Hollis his Souldiers fl [...] into the Thames for ſafety, where the Cavalliers ſhot at them till they were drowned, amongſt which was one Captaine Lacy a ſtout and Valliant man, they tooke five of the Earl of Eſſex his Souldiers priſoners, and tyed their hands and forced them [Page] into the River, and a Trooper rod into the water after them and forced them into the depth, where they were drowned.

And when the fight began at Brainford they placed ten of the Earl of Eſſex his Souldiers whom they had formerly taken priſoners at Kynton pinioned in the front of their men at a breaſt-worke to receive the bullets that came from Collonell Hollis his Regiment: but ſuch was the providence of God, that none of them were hurt though ſhot through the cloathes in many places; when they had poſſeſſed themſelves of the towne, firſt they dranke and waſted the Beere and wine in the ſeverall Innes and other places, and that which they could not drinke they let it out upon the ground.

They likewiſe piſtolled to death one Francis who lived at Vxbridge, becauſe he ſaid he was for the King and Parliament, juſt as he came out of his Inne riding home to his wife and children.

But one of the moſt inhumane actions that they did at Brainford was the pillaging of one Mr. Pierce a Brewer, who not only tooke away all his beere and his cheife brewer, but ten or twelve ſtout horſes, and not being contented therewith they came into his houſe, and drove his wife forth thereof into the high way, ſhe being in her ſmock with her child in her armes, though ſhe had laine in but a week, who ſuddenly dyed after it; and had like to have fired his houſe; ſuch was their crueltie and inhumane actions at this poore Towne.

Alſo his next neighbour one Maſter Smith a ſervant to the King, being one of his guard, and well knowne to ſome of them, had much a doe to preſerve his houſe from pillaging, his life and his wives from piſtolling, and his houſe from firing; for they ſhot divers times at it, but yet miſt it, thanks be given to God; And at their flying away from thence they tooke from the inhabitants their money, Linnen, wollen, bedding, wearing apparrell, horſes, cowes, ſwine, henns, &c. and all manner of victualls▪ alſo Pewter, braſſe; Iron-pots and kettells, and all manner of grocery, chanlery, and appothecary ware, and many of the feather beds which they could not beare away, they cut the tikes into peeces and ſcattered the feathers in the fields and ſtreets. And to be ſhort, they made ſpoile and hovocke of all things that were worth any thing in the towne: ſparing neither rich not poore, but either ſpoiled or carried with them, all things from the coſtlieſt jewells, apparrell and hangings of many Gentlemen of great quallity, even to the poore almſ-women, and the poor beggars, that begs at the townes end. And when they had uſed the towne in this manner, they defaced the houſes and ſet one of fire, of purpoſe to have burnt downe the ſaid towne, though afterwards it was happily quenched by an inhabitant.

Nay their inſolency and cruelty appeared yet greater for they ſet drawne ſwords and Piſtolls cockt to men and womens breaſts; threatning them with death, if they brought not out all their money, and that they would cut of their noſes; and pluck out their eyes, calling them Parliament dogs, Round-headed Rogues, beatting, laming, and wounding them, tying others with ropes and [...] and being ſtript to the ſhirts, were carried away priſoners; and as [Page] one was leading towards O [...]tland being very thrifty, he ſtooped to take a litle water in his hat to drinke, they moſt cruelly beate him and bruiſed him, for offering to doe it. When they came to Kingſton, they uſed the like violence to that towne, as they did to Brainford, except to ſome few that were of the Malignant party, and therein they ſhewed more humanity at this town [...], then I have heard of before or ſince, for at other places they made no deſtinction of any. All is fiſh that comes to net to them; for neither Carrier nor Trava [...]ler, man nor horſe ſhall ſcape them; for they have robbed divers men, eſpecially two while I was an eye-witneſſe; namely one Mr. Sparkes a Draper, and one Mr. Thomas a Book-ſeller of Briſtoll, they tooke from the firſt all his money and his ſword, from the other his watch, his mony, and his ſword, being threatned with their lives, and looked every hour when they would kill them, but they eſaped with their lives, th [...]y ſearch all men u [...]der pretence for conveying lette [...]s bu [...] inſtead of letters, they take away their mony & rings.

Yet ſuch is the heatheniſh barbarouſneſſe of this accurſed generation, that I cannot without ſome prejudice to my precedent diſcourſe, and likewiſe injury to the indifferent Reader conclude this Tragicall ſtory without ſpeaking a word & no more concerning theſe unhumane creatures▪ whoſe practiſe is far worſe then the heatheniſh Turkes or Caniballs, for they are not contented with the exerciſe of all the bloody cruelty that all the malice in the world if it were contracted within the breaſts of theſe furies of hell, could deviſe in murthering and moſt cruelly handling men women, little Infants, &c. but that the generation to come, might have every way cauſe to curſe them, they endeavour to uſher into this Kingdome the miſerable calamity of famine, for they now begin daily to burne houſes, fire Towns and Villages, deſtroy the Corne, both in the field and in the barne, cut downe and deſtroy the woods, and plants which the earth is bringing forth, drive away all manner of Cattell both of Horſe, Oxen, Sheep, and other Cattell making no diſtinction of fat or leane barren, or thoſe that are great with young but drive them all away that they light on, both out of Bucking-ſhire Bark-ſhire and a great part of Oxford-ſhire, and other places, carrying them into ſuch Towns where they are quartered, and theſe that they cannot eate, they kill and deſtroy, and caſt into the dirt or to the dogs.

Theſe are thoſe curſed Iſmaell [...] which do not only diſhonour and abuſe God his Annoynted by their oaths and blaſphemies & would if it were poſſible pull God out of heaven, for they make it a common ſaying amongſt them▪ We will drinke and be drunke, whore, and be damned, and will not be beholding to God to ſave us▪ And that they had rather be in hell with their Comrades, then in heaven with the Round-heads: And they have ſuch new invented oaths▪ imprications, and healths, [...]o full of wickedneſſe and blaſphemy, that the like were never heard of before amongſt other Turkes or Pagans, for it is uſuall amongſt them to ſay: The Divell that made us damme us, and damme mee, and ram me into the mouth of a Canon, and ſhoote me nine miles into hell, &c. They make proclamations amongſt themſelves that if any Gentleman or ſouldier that can invent new oaths to damme & deſtroy Py [...] and his Adherents, ſhall have 100. l. for ſo doing. They drink a health to King Charls in whom they live, move, and have our being. And although their being is in him that is but a mortall man, they at another time will wiſh him without being▪ in whom they ſay [Page] their being conſiſts, for when they were upon their hot march toward London, in the expectation of the fruition of plentifull and rich treaſure, where they placed their ſummum bonum: His Majeſtie ſleeping ſomething long one morning, which hindered them of an houres march, they wiſhed that hee might ſleepe a whole fortnight together, that they might the more eagerly purſue their bloody intentions, and drunk healths to his confuſion, and the confuſion of our Saviour Chriſt himſelfe, and his Goſpell, if his Majeſty concluded of a Peace without their conſent or privity.

They do boaſt that the King cannot ſtir a quarter of a mile without their knowledg, but they do watch him as a cat doth watch a mouſe, they have a perpetuall eye over him and his actions, and ſo powerfull they are with his Majeſtie, that if his Majeſtie reſolve to have a thought of Peace and to come to his Parliament, they preſently have their agents about his Majeſtie, that they can preſently alter and change his minde like a weather-cock.

They likewiſe drunke the deſtruction and confuſion of theſe worthy Gentlemen, who ſtand up for the King and Country; calling them Traytors, vowing to be avenged eſpecially of them, and of the City of London, the County of Eſſex, and alſo of Kent as namely.

The Lord Kimbolton now Earle of Mancheſter.

Sir, Arthur Haſting.

Maſter Denzell Hollis.

Maſter Iohn Pym.

Maſter Stroud.

Maſter Iohn Hampden.

Sir Iohn Hotham.

The Earle of Eſſex.

The Earle of Warwick.

Iſaac Penington Lord Major of London.

Serjeant Major Generall Skippon.

Colonell Iohn Ven.

Sheriffe Fouke.

Colonell Manwayring.

And the whole burthen of their ſongs at the drinking of their healths, is

And for Round-heads we will have none,

But hang them all up one by one.

Therefore what outrages and cruelties will not theſe Sonnes of Belial commit againſt the Creature, ſeeing all that they can invent will not ſatisfie their malice, but as much as in them lyes, doe abuſe the Creator and the ſacred perſon of our Saviour Chriſt himſelfe.

Here would I faine make an end, for as the conſideration of theſe inhumanities and barbarous cruelties cannot but pirce the hardeſt heart that hath any love or regard to his native country, for it makes my pen weary in writing theſe ſad and penſive lynes, to thinke that ſuch horrid wicked practices ſhould be acted in this land, and by our owne nation, which was firſt hatched in hell, and by the working of the divill; were afterwards practiſed in Ireland amongſt the Rebells, and from thence by the example of thoſe Rebells together with their ayde and aſſiſtance is now daily acted in England.

FINIS.

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§

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A perfect DECLARATION Of The Barbarous and Cruell practiſes committed by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in his Majeſties Army, from the time of the Kings going from his Parliament untill this preſent day.

Alſo the names and places of all thoſe whoſe houſes have bin plundred, and loſt their lives and eſtates, compared with the bloudy cruelties of the Rebells in Ireland, whoſe examples they follow and make uſe of them as their Agents to act their cruelties in England,

Together with the new Oaths, and blaſphemous Speeches they doe daily invent, and how Prince Roberts Captaines offer ſummes of money to thoſe that can ſtudy new Execrations againſt the Round-heads.

Alſo a Juſtification of Prince Robert his cruelties, and that his Vindication lately printed, onely forged and invented by ſome of his followers.

Collected by R. Andrewes Chyrurgion, who is now a priſoner amongſt the Cavalliers, and was taken at Kynton battell.

Printed at London for Fr. Coule. 1642.

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Title statement

A perfect declaration of the barbarous and cruell practises committed by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in His Majesties army, from the time of the Kings going from his Parliament untill this present day ... together with the new oaths and blasphemous speeches they doe daily invent ... : also, a justification of Prince Robert his cruelties ... / collected by R. Andrewes ...

Andrewes, R., 17th cent.

Edition statement

1642

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Text Creation Partnership,

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2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

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A69467

ID [STC]

Wing A3154

ID [STC]

ESTC R557

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

07764423

ID [OCLC]

ocm 07764423

ID [VID]

40116

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A69467)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 40116)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 162:14 or 266:E242, no 33)

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— A perfect declaration of the barbarous and cruell practises committed by Prince Robert, the Cavalliers, and others in His Majesties army, from the time of the Kings going from his Parliament untill this present day ... together with the new oaths and blasphemous speeches they doe daily invent ... : also, a justification of Prince Robert his cruelties ... / collected by R. Andrewes ..., Andrewes, R., 17th cent..

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[8] p.

For Fr. Coule,. Printed at London :: 1642.. (Reproduction of originals in the University of Michigan Libraries and the Thomason Collection, British Library.)

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Editorial practices

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.