YOu know I seldome make Speeches, yet (my Lords) every thing would live; and now I must either find a Tongue, or lose my head. I am accus'd for sitting here when your Lord­ships fled to the Army; Alas, my Lords, I am an old man, I must sit; you may ride or run any whither, but I am an old man. You voted them Tray­tours who left the House, and went to York; they told us then they were forc'd away by Tumults: do not You say so too? were they Traytours for going, and am I a Traytour for stay­iug? 'sDeath (my Lords) what would ye have me doe? hereafter Ile neither go nor stay. I have serv'd ye seven years, what have ye given me, unlesse part of a Thanksgiving-Din­ner, for which you made me fast once a Month? I was fed like a Prince at the KING'S cost, twice every day, (long before some of you were born,) and this KING continued, nay out-did his Father in heaping favours upon me: Yet (for your sakes) I renounc'd my Master when he had most need of me; Voted against him, swore against him, hired men to fight against him: I confesse, I my self neither struck at him, nor shot at him; but I pray'd for those that did: I gave my Tenants their Leases Fine-free if they would rise and resist the KING. And yet (my Lords) after all this must I be a Traytour? Have I not sworn for ye over and over a­gain? You sent me on your errands, to Oxford, to Uxbridge, to Newcastle, to Holdenby; you hurry'd me up and down as if I had been a King: you made me carry a world of Pro­positions, I brought them all safe and sound; what you bade me say, I spake to a syllable; and had the KING ask'd me how old I was, without your Commission I should not have told him, and yet (my Lords) I am an old man. Remem­ber [Page 2] how I stuck to you against Strafford and Canterbury; some of ye shrunk at Strafford's Tryall, that your Names were like to be poasted with Malignants; and for Canter­bury, many of you would have had him live, my Lord of Northumberland and others would have no hand in his Bloud, but I gave ye the casting voice which sent him pack­ing into another world; And yet now would ye send me after him? Have I not sate with you early and late? When the Parliament tumbled, and toss'd, and roll'd it self, on this side, and on that side, still I was for the Parliament; though I stay'd here with Presbyterian Lords, yet when you return'd I was firm for You: all the other Lords left you in the House when Sir Thomas's Chaplain gave thanks for your Return, but I stay'd and pray'd with you, and am (for ought I know) as great an Independent as any of ye all. I Rejoic'd with ye, Fasted, sung Psalms, Pray'd with you, and (here­after) will run away with ye. Nay, I had done it now, but who knew your minds? if ye meant I should follow ye, why did ye not wink upon me? think ye I could run away by instinct? My Lords, you know I love Dogs, and (though I say it) I thank God I have as good Dogs as any man in Eng­land; now (my Lords) if a Dog follow me when I do not call him I bid him be gone; if I call him and he comes not, then I beat him; but if I beat him for not comming when I never call'd him, you'l think me mad; 'sDeath (my Lords) 'tis a poor Dog is not worth the whistling.

But perhaps my fault is not meer staying here, but being active in your absence, because in my Robes & collar of S-S I brought up Mr Pelham the Commons new Speaker: why, what if I did? Is not Mr Pelham my owne Cosen? would Your Lordships have me uncivill to my kindred? why might not I entertaine the new Speaker, as well as Sir Robert Harley intreat us to admit him? Mr Pelham is none of Sir Robert's Cosen, and yet Sir Robert is an old man.

I heare some say, that I was forward to begin a new War, [Page 3] that my hand is to all the Warrants for Listing Men and Horse, and in order thereunto, I voted His Majesty should come to London. 'Tis true (my Lords) I did give my Vote for the KING'S comming hither; but wherefore was it? 'twas only to come to choose a New Speaker: what, would ye have Vs dumb, and sit here like Ferrets? my Lords, I love to hear men speak; and all the Lawyers told me, No King, no Speaker; that either the Commons must name their Speaker and the KING approve him, or the KING name him and the Commons approve him; No King, no Speaker: And so I was for the King, that is, for the Speaker.

Then (my Lords) observe the manner of His comming; the KING was to come according to the Covenant; mark ye that? I was still for my Oathes: let Him come when He will, if the Covenant fetch Him, He had as good stay away. And yet men cry shame on the Covenant; those that took it do cast it up againe; and those that refuse it have given a world of Arguments that it is Unreasonable; which Reasons our Assembly (like a company of Rascals) never yet answer'd. I know (my Lords) many of our friends never took this Oath, but they refus'd it out of meer Conscience; shall Ma­lignants Consciences be as tender as ours? why, what do they think our Consciences are made of? But (my Lords) suppose this Oath be Unreasonable; can we do nothing but we must give Reason for it? this is as bad as the House of Commons, who when we deny to passe any Ordinance, pre­sently send to know our Reasons, though themselves give no Reasons for demanding Ours. And so Malignants would have Reasonable Oaths; only here's the difference, the House of Commons do use to demand Reasons, and Malignants de­sire to be suffer'd to give Reasons: my Lords, I love not this giving of Reasons; though I hold the Covenant is Extreame Reasonable; for as some Malignants take it to save their E­states, so we give it to make them lose their Estates; both love the Estate, and both hate the Covenant. Thus (my Lords) [Page 4] we have Reason for this Oath, and Your Lordships have No Reason to make me a Traytour while I give my Vote accor­ding to the Covenant.

As for signing Warrants to raise a New War, I wonder you'l speak of it; have not ye all done it a hundred times? how many Reames of Paper have we subscrib'd to raise forces for King and Parliament? 'tis known I can scarce write a word besides my Name: cannot a man write his own Name without losing his head? if I must give Accompt for what I set my hand to, Lord have mercy upon me: I see now my Grandfather was a wise man, he could neither write nor read, and happy for me if I were so too: Come, come my Lords, be plain and tell me, do I look like one that would raise a New War? I must confesse I love a good Army, but if there be none till I raise it, Souldiers of Fortune may change their Names. No, (my Lords) 'twas not I, 'twas the Eleven Members would have rais'd a War; you see they were guilty by their running away, I neither ran with Them nor with You, I do not like this running away, I love to stay by it; and whe­ther was for War, I that stay'd in Town, or You that went to an Army? the Devill of Horse did I list but in my New Coach, nor us'd any Harnesse but my Collar of S-S. And will ye for this clap me in the Tower? you sent me thither six years since for but handling a Standish, and now you'l commit me for writing my Name; what (my Lords) do ye hate Learning? can ye not end or begin a Parliament without sending me to the Tower? Doe Your Lordships meane to make me a Lord Maîor? If I needs must go, I pray ye, send me home, to Baynard's Castle or Durham House, (a dam­nable fire burnt my house at Wilton just that hower I mov'd Your Lordships to drive Malignants out of London.) But why to the Tower? am I company for Lions? do ye think me a Cattamountaine, fit to be shown through a grate for two pence? No, my Lords, keep the Tower for Malignants, they can endure it, some of them have been Prisoners seven years; [Page 5] they can feed upon bare Allegiance, please themselves with Discourses of Conscience, of Honour, of a Righteous Cause, and I know not what: But what's this to me? How will those Malignants look upon me? nay, how shall I look upon Them? I confesse some of 'em love my Son's company, they say he's more a Gentleman, and ha's wit: 'sDeath (my Lords) must I now turn Gentleman? I thought I had been a Peer of the Realm, and am I now a Gentleman? let my Son keep his Wit, his poor Father ne're got two pence by his Wit. Alas, (my Lords) what hurt can I do ye? or what good will it do ye to have my Head? I am but a Ward, my Lord Say hath dispos'd of me these seven years; I am no Lawyer though the Littletons call me Cosen; I am no Scholar, though I have been their Chancellour; I am no States-man, though I was a Privy Counsellour; I know not what ye mean by the Three Estates; last June the Army demanded a Release for Lil­burne, Musgrove, and Overton, I thought They were the Three Estates: I thank God I have a good Estate of my own, and I have the Estates of my Lord Baynings Children, and I have my Lord of Carnarvons Estate, these are my Three Estates. And yet (my Lords) must I to the Tower? Consider we are but a few Lords left, come, let's love, and be kind to one another; The Cavaliers quarrell'd among themselves, beat one another, and lost all: Let Vs be wiser my Lords; for had we fallen into their condition, my Con­science tells me we had lookt most wofully.

I perceive Your Lordships begin to think better of me, and I hear you would quit me if I were not charg'd by the Agita­tors and Generall Councell of the Army. How? Agitator? 'sDeath what's that? who ever heard that word before? I understand Classicall, Provinciall, Congregationall, Nationall; but for Agitator, it may (for ought I know) be a Knave not worth three Pence: if Agitators cut Noblemens throats you'l find the Devill ha's been an Agitator. As for the Gene­rall Councell I hate the Name of it, 'tis old and naught, and [Page 6] us'd to be full of Bishops; those fellows have troubled us e­ver since the Apostles; I thought we had made 'em orpo enough, and is their Name come again to torment me? My Lords, I understand not these Generall Councells, those of old (they say) were Christians, and these are Independents: What a damnable deal of Generalling is here! Generall Assembly, Generall of the Army, Generall Councell of the Army; we never had quiet hower since we had so many Generalls. Well, my Lords, these are hard times, and we make them worse with hards words, which neither we nor our Fathers understood. Heretofore Bishops went Jure Divino, then Elders would be Jure Divino, and now Agitators will be Jure Divino, (Dam me, I think nothing is Jure Divino but God.) Call ye this a through Reformation? what betwixt the Assemblers and the Agitators I am reform'd to meer skin and bone. My Lords, if these 'tators must rule the Kingdome, why are not we our selves Agitators? why may not I make Oldsworth an Agi­tator? his abilities and honesty are equall to most of 'em. But (for ought I see) Agitators will sooner be Earls of Pembroke and Mongomery than we Agitators: for the Parliament leads the people, the Army leads the Parliament, Sir Thomas leads the Army, Cromwell leads Sir Thomas, Ireton leads Cromwell, Agitators will lead Ireton, whither the Devill shall we all lead at last?

My Lords, ye see I have spoke my mind; I hope every week some of your Lordships will do the like; and the Commons in this (though in nothing else) will follow the House of Peers.

But I have done, I have done, my Lords: Remember I beseech ye I am an old man, I have been a Grandfather time out of mind (for I was so when this Parliament began,) and now must I be food for Agitators? O my Lords, I have used the KING so ill, and He lov'd me so well, & I have serv'd you so well, and you use me so ill, that no man is sorry for me: Therefore my Request is, that you would not think of sen­ding me to the Tower, till some body pities me.