HOw now! Who's this that disturbeth my dust, at Rest now some years?

I am one that gave thee no Rest when we lived together upon the Earth.

What? Is it Oliver Cromwel, that grand Enemy of mine?

The same.

What? hast thou left thy station on Earth, and durst thou here also to own thy self my Enemy?

What is it that I ever wanted Impudence to do?

'Tis true; neither didst thou ever want a base Hypocriti­cal Temper to colour thy most absurd Actions.

Oh Sir! I did no other then Imitate most of our Rank, which, according to our Creed, viz. Nicholas Machiavell's Prince, who saith, A Prince or Tyrant ought never to want good Pretences, to colour the worst of Actions with.

What dost thou Rank thy self amongst Princes? Didst thou usurp the Kingly Office, after thou didst me that Ill Office?

I made a shift to gain the Supremacy; and because the Nation was under age, I made my self their Protector; and would have made my self King, but that I durst not ac­cept of the Title, because I had a Hand in your death; the which the People all knew: therefore I could not find a co­lourable pretence: for besides that, I often Imprecated and protested against the Government of a Single Person, in the hearing of the Officers of my Army, who had somewhat tender Consciences, in regard I had not a Crown for every one of them to harden their Consciences with, they ob­structed it once whilest it was under Consulation in Par­liament, to bestow upon me that Bauble which only serveth to cheat People.

What? Would that Parliament that took the Crown from my head, put it upon thine, and not upon one of my Childrens heads?

Alas, Sir, that Parliament, I turned them all out of Doores, after they had declared England a Commonwealth; and then I became a Seeker, took the Fifth-Monarchy people in to ayd me in the turning them out of their Reputation; in which work several of that opinion did me good service, by defaming, railing, and abusing the Parliament, in the ears of the people, which made the work more easie and secure: So soon as that was done, I turned them to grass together, with the Eel-skin, Aqua-vitae, or Lamb-skin Par­liament, what shall I call it? and then I was made Lord Protector, forsooth.

Then you were made Protector! who made you Protector, I pray?

Who? It was my Scullion, and Grooms, and Butler, and some other Nobles and great men, besides Sir Thomas Viner then Lord Mayor of London.

Sir Thomas Viner! Why, who made him a Knight?

Who? I did, with many more doughty ones.

Thou hast played a mad Game; it is strange that a Halter never catcht thee: Didst thou not come out of the World by the Rope, or the Ax, or by the hand of some Felton or other?

No; but I came by the Immediate hand of God, who never suffered that worm of Conscience to die within me, but it still lay Gnawing and Tormenting of me, brought an unusual Feaver upon me, that dryed up all my blood, that at my departure not one drop almost was left within me.

What didst thou do with the Sectaries, when thou camest to that Power?

I served them all alike; I made use of such of them as were as sound Trowts as my self; and turn'd off all that I thought had any principles; and made choyce of such onely as would serve me in any undertaking?

How couldst thou secure thy self against so many sturdy [Page 4] and lofty spirits, as was raised in the Warr between Me and the Par­liament? or, how couldst thou charm them to quietness?

Thus: If any stirred against me, I at once struck off their heads; I did not Nibble about their Ears, as you did about Burton's, Prynne's, and Bastwick's.

Alas! At that time I could do no more, and it had been better I had never done that; for it discontented the Puritans so much, that they sought all means to work me Ill and Mischief, for my suffering that, and the Innovations in the Church in point of Worship, together with the Patentees and Monopolies; all which discontented my People so much, that it made way for that Cursed Warr, in which I lost my self and Friends; by which you did arrive to what greatness you were at: These and such like follies I was guilty of, by being advised by none but a vitious Nobility, that spent their Estates in a Riotous and voluptuous manner, never minding Justice or Policy, Exhausting my Exchequer to support them, which brought me into want, which necessitated me to lay Burdens upon my People; the which discontented them. They would not submit to be ruled, but I must have a Parliament to prevent popular Insurrections: the which I was forced to do, in regard the Scots had their Arms in their hands; and the Forces that I rai­sed, would not sight: and when the Parliament assembled, I lost my self, by not condescending to what ever they desired, according to the advice of my Gravest Councel; and by my hearkening to such Counsell that advised me to Insist upon my Prerogative; which at length occasioned that Warr. And after the War was ended, that I should at all Refuse to submit to any Tearms, when they offered me my Crown again; I having lost it in the Field, being a priso­ner, and having no Forces to stand by me; that I should stand up­on Tearms. Alas, alas, I acknowledge I played a foolish Game; if I had not Refused to condescend to those Propositions at the Trea­ty in the Isle of Wight, I had kept my head on my shoulders, in despight of thee and all the rest of my Enemies. But, I prethee Oliver, now I have told thee how I play'd the Fool, tell me how thou didst play the Knave after my decease; part of which thou hast already discoursed to me.

Let me tell you, now I do intend to be reall to you, and cast off those pretences I have hitherto cleathed my Actions with. The order of my under-hand dealing is in manner thus; First, when the Presbyterians were so hot for you, and intended foolishly to re-establish you, I began to be a zealous Independent, and promoted that Faction or Opinion above all other in the Army, and sent Cornet Joyce privately, ordering him to secure your Person, (though af­terwards I denyed it with all the Imprecations I could de­vise) to bring you into the Custody of the Army. That I might make the better tearms for my self, I set afoot a Treaty with you at Oatlands; afterwards I propounded to my self, That I could not possibly thereby attain to the End that I aymed at by that Action; then I contrived to foment a Jealousie in you of a surprize intended by the Levellers, to seize you, and bring you to Tryal. Upon this, you went in­to my Trap in the Isle of Wight. After I had taken off your Head, before I went to Ireland, I had to do with designing the destruction of the Levellers; the which I effected in this manner. They being in a Body, & likely to have sent me after you (before I had tasted of the fruits of Soveraignty); I employed some amongst them to be Confederates, who be­trayed all their Resolutions to me, and promised to obstruct their designs; for which I gave them Additional Honours: and I employed others to treat with them, and engage, that the Army should not advance upon them untill the Treaty was over; which cast them into a security at Burford: There­upon I advanced the Army, and fell in to their Quarters, slew many, and hanged others. After which, I went into Ireland, with an Army. I furnished it with all the Anabap­tists I could find fit to say Bo to a Goose, both in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Then my Lord Fairfax tamely, up­on a scruple of Conscience, layd down his Commission; which act of his made my work easie to attain the Supre­macy; else I must have pickt some holes in his Coat to [Page 6] have taken him out of the way by death or otherwise; the which was not easie to be done, he walking so circumspect­ly: If he had not done it, I should have suborned some that would have done my work effectually; the which Art I alwayes found to serve my designs to good purpose, in ta­king away whomsoever I designed to destroy, unless it were one Dozen or thereabouts of subtile fellows, whom I fear will be revenged on my simple Son Dick, who hath not the spirit of Government upon him.

What hast thou gulled my People, so as to leave any of thy Brood behind thee in the Government?

Yes, I left him Protector, and left my Secretary to protect him; but I doubt he will not be able to hold it long. Well, but to the business in hand, I am upon Con­fessing my villany; I say, when I had furnished the Armies with Anabaptists, I was able to deal with the Parliament, who for the most part were Independents: I by my self and Emissaries in the House, together with some of your Friends, did impede settlement by way of a Commonwealth, obstruct­ed Justice in the House, promoted and countenanced all Villanies in Committees, thereby to render them odious to the people. Now some of the Anabaptists served me to good purpose, who were all for a Fifth-Monarchy; the which Opinion I fomented all that I could: The Parliament stood in their way when they became considerable, by whom they were defamed, abused, and slighted, their credit much weakned by such like means in the opinion of the People, I thereupon dissolved them.

—Oliver,—Oliver,—Oliver.

What! who's that that disturbeth us?

I am thy Son Richard's Genius, that come to tell thee, That he is Reduced to a private Capacity, and the Long-Parliament hath again Re-assumed their Authority, and he is little better then a prisoner; He cannot stirre our of doors either to Hawk or Hunt, for fear of Common Var­lets [Page 7] and Serjeants; There's one that intendeth to have him by the back for money for thy Wax Nose that belongeth to thy Effigies; another for this; and others for that.

What strange fate turneth the Wheel of the English affairs!

Ha, ha, ha! Is it come to your own door, Sir? Well, certainly they will, like David, give thy sons to the Gibeonites, to be hung a Sun-drying, for all the Indignities thou hast done them?

It's strange! I ventured Body and Soul to get three Dominions, to leave him Lord of, and he would not sell his to keep them; he is not to be pitied.—To our former dis­course; I then called together a parcel of Gentlemen from Goatam, and other parts of the Nation, which were the Tinder-box, Lambskin, or Small-coal Parliament I men­tioned before. I made a shew of Devolving the power upon them; made use of them to raise money, and do some other Jobbs of Journeywork. Then I procured one half to dis­solve the other: Afterwards, I designed Warr with Spain, for several Reasons; one was, to keep the Active spirits in the Army imployed; and to waste them there, whom I de­sired to be rid of here. Another was, That a Warr with Spain would be least Hurtful to me, though it was the most hurtfull to the People of England; It would Impoverish them, and reduce the more of the needy sort of People to a Necessity of taking up of Arms to serve me, and render the other to be less Hurtful: But it so fell out, that the Design came off with ill successes; My great preparations were Expensive, and drove me to Necessities: I was forced to Invent some Plots, and I imployed some of my cunning Gamesters, which drew in many of your party severall times; them I sequ [...]stred, which served me to stop many Gaps. I repaired so often to that kind of practice, that every one suspected the secrecy; the last of which I intended to be put in Execution a little in Doctor Hewytt's Plott, to [Page 8] the lighting of some Fires in the City, by the Heat of which I thought to have Illuminated the City and Nation with a belief of the Truth and Reality thereof, it being much like unto what our Brother Nero did at Rome; but I feared it might have gone too far out of my Reach, and the Effect might have been dangerous to my Person and Estate: there­fore, forasmuch as they would not believe it, without some dyed, I gently sprinckled the City with the Blood of that Malignant Doctor, and some other silly Souls; by which means I came off believed by most, though suspected by the Ingenious.

Oh horrid Villany? But why should I much wonder? since if it be well considered, other than this, and much worse, could never be expected from thee. We [...]l, go on.

Stay there, Sir! I have discovered enough at once; yet if you had not Interrupted me, I should at this time have Imparted more; but we will forbear untill another time; But it doth trouble me much to think, how that That Par­liament should be again upon the Stage: I fear me now, neither your posterity nor mine shall ever attain the Su­premacy: they will secure the Arms of the Nation from falling into the hands of one person. I have done them some good, in teaching them that Lesson. Next time we meet, we shall discourse of these things farther.

Let it be so.