A DECLARATION To the Kingdome of ENGLAND Concerning The poysoning of King Iames (of happy memory) King of Great Brittain.
WHereas the chief human care of Kings, and Courts of Parliament, is, the preservation and protection of the subjects lives, liberties, & estates, from private and publike injuries; to the end, that all things may be carryed in the equal balance of Justice, without which, no Monarchy, no Common-wealth, no Society, no Family, yea no mans life or estate can consist, albeit never so little: It cannot be thought unjust to demand of Kings, the censure of wrongs; the consideration whereof was so great in our Monarch of happy memory King Iames, That He hath often publikly protested even in the presence of his apparent Heire, That if His owne [Page 2] sonne shoul [...] commit Murther, or any such execrable act of inj [...]ry, he would not spare him, but would have him dye for it, and would have him more severely punished then any other: For he very well observed, no greater injustice, no injury more intolerable can be done to man by man, then murther. And therefore, for a more further discovery of the Actors and Conspirators, in the late businesse touching the death of the most high and mighty Monarch King JAMES; this particular discourse doth fully remonstrate, and herein is exactly set down both the actors and their actions in this ensuing Declaration
THE Duke of Buckingham being in Spain, advertised by Letters, how that the King began to censure him in his absence freely, and that many spake boldly to the King against him, and how the King had intelligence from Spain, of his unworchy carriage in Spain; and (how the Marquesse of Hamilton (upon the sudden newes of the Princes departure) had nobly reprehended the King for sending the Prince with such a young man without experience, and in such a private and sudden manner, without acquainting the Nobility or Councel therewith, wrote a very bitter letter to the Marquis of Hamilton, conceived new ambitious courses of his own, and used all the devises he could to disgust the Princes mind of the match with Spain, so far intended by the King, made hast home; where▪ when he came, he so carryed himself, that what the King commanded in his Bed-Chamber, he controlled in the next: yea, received Packets to the King from forraign Princes, and dispatched answers, without acquainting the King therewith in a long time after.
[Page 3] Whereat, perceiving the King highly offended, and that the Kings mind was beginning to alter towards him, suffering him to be quarrelled and affronted in his Majesties presence; and observing, that the King reserved my Lord of Bristoll to be a rod for him, urging dayly his dispatch for France, and expecting the Earl of Gondomor, who as it seemed, was greatly esteemed, and wonderfully credited by the King, & would second my Lord of Bristol his accusations against him. He knew also that the King had vowed, that in despite of all the Divels in Hell, he would bring the Spanish match about again, and that the Marquesse of Inicosa had given the King bad impressions of him, by whose Articles of Accusation, the King himself had examined some of the Nobility and Privy Councell, and found out in the examination, that Buckingham had said after his comming from Spain, That the King was now an old man, it was now time for him to be at rest, and to be confined to some Park, and to passe the rest of his time in hunting, and the Prince to be crowned.
The more the King urged him to be gone to France, the more shifts he made to stay, for he did evidently see that the King was fully resolved to rid himselfe of the oppression wherein he held him.
The King b [...]ing sick of a certain ague, and that in the spring was of it self never found deadly; the Duke tooke opportunity when all the Kings Doctors of physick were at dinner upon the munday before the King dyed, without their knowledge or consent offred to him a white powder to take the which he a long time resused, but overcome with his flattering importunity, at length took it in wine, and immediately became worse and worse, falling into many swounings and pains, and violent fluxes of the belly; and was so grievously tormented, that His Majestie cried out aloud of this white powder, saying; Would to God I had never taken [Page 4] it, it will cost me my life: with divers other speeches to that effect.
In like manner also the Countesse of Buckingham, my Lord of Buckingham's mother, upon the Friday after, the Phisitians being also absent, and at dinner, and not made acquainted with her doings, applied a plaister to the Kings heart and breast; whereupon he grew faint, short breathed, and in a great agony. Some of the Phisitians after dinner returning to see the King, by the offensive smell of the plaister, perceived something to be about him hurtfull unto him, and searching what it should be, found it out, and exclaimed that the King was poisoned.
Then Buckingham entering, commanded the Phisitians out of the room, caused one of them to be committed prisoner to his own chamber, and another to be removed from Court; quarrelling with others of the Kings servants in his Majesties own presence, so farre that he offered to draw his sword against them in His Majesties presence. And Buckinghams mother kneeling down before His Majestie, cried out with a brazen face, justice, justice; Sir, I demand justice of your Majestie. His Majestie asked her for what? For that which their lives are no wayes sufficient to satisfie; for saying that my sonne and I have poysoned your Majestie. Poysoned me! said he; with that turning himself swouned, and she was removed.
The Sunday after, His Majestie died; and Buckingham desired the Phisitians who attended His Majestie, to signe with their hands a writ of testimony, that the powder which he gave him was a good and safe medicine; which they refused.
Buckinghams creatures did spread abroad a rumour in London, that Buckingham was so sorry for His Majesties death, that he would have died, that he would have killed [Page 5] himself if they had not hindred him; concerning which, I purposely enquired after it, of them that were neare him at that time, who said; That neither in the time of His Majesties sicknesse, nor after His death, he was more moved, then if there had never happened either sicknesse or death to His Majestie.
One day when his Majesty was in great extremity, he rod post to London to pursue his sister in law to have her stand in sack-cloath in S. Pauls for adultery. And another time in his Majesties agony he was busie in contriving and concluding a marriage for one of his cosens.
Immediatly after his Majesties death, the Physitian who was commanded to his chamber was set at liberty with a Caveat to hold his peace, the others threatned if they kept not good tongues in their heads.
But in the mean time the Kings body and head swelled above measure, his hair with th the skin of his head stuck to the pillow, his nailes became loose upon his fingers, and toes.
Concerning the poysoning of the Lord Marquess Hamelton.
The Marquis of Hamilton being also poysoned, he was no sooner dead, but the force of the poyson overcame the force of his body, and it began to swell in such sort, That his Thighes were swolne six times as big as their naturall proportion: his belly became as big as the belly of an Oxe, his armes as the naturall quantity of his Thighes his neck so broad as his shoulders, his Cheeks over the top of his Nose, that his Nose could not be seene or distinquished, the skin of his fore-head, two fingers high swelled, the haire of his beard eye-browes and Head, so farre distant one from mother, as if an hundred had been taken out betweene each one, and when one did touch the hair it came away with the skin as easily, as if one had pulled hay out of an heap of hay he was all over his neck, breast, shoulders, armes, and brows I say of divers colours full of water of the same colour, some white, some black, some red, some yellow, some green some blew, and that as well within his body as without.
Also the concavities of his liver green, his stomack in some places, a little purpvrated with a blew clammy water adhering to the sides of it, his mouth & nose foming bloud mixt with froth mightly, of divers colours a yard high.