IN the Month of July 1679. I published a Narrative relating to the late Trou­bles, as well in my own Vindication, as for publick Satisfaction; In which, nothing was contain'd but what I always offer'd to make good, and justifie before any Magistrate, or in any Court of Justice whatsoever. Nevertheless, so it fell out, that one Edmond Everard, who was so long kept Prisoner in the Tower, for his intent to have Poison'd his Grace the Duke of Monmouth, (as is at large set forth in the said Narrative,) finding no other way to obtain his Liber­ty, pretended to become an Evidence for the King, in discovering great Plots and [Page 2]Conspiracies of many years standing: And by this Pretence, as also giving his Bond for 50 l. (of which he never paid a Penny, though the Work was done,) to Mrs. Betty Mackrel, for prevailing with some near the Duke of Monmouth, to take off his former Displeasure against him; at last he obtain'd his Liberty, entitling himself one of His Majesties Evidences. Now this Everard understanding that my Narrative confuted several passages of his Depositions, and fully discover'd the true cause of his Imprisonment in the Tower; He apply'd himself to Sir John Fre­derick, and Sir Robert Hanson, Justices of the Peace in the City of London, falsly suggesting that my said Narrative was a Libel; and thereupon obtain'd their War­rant to seize my Books in the Binders House, (about 2000 in number,) which to this day continue in the Constables hands one Grey of St. Martins, London: And though the said Justices declar'd to the Constable, that he should return them to me; and the Constable often promising me the Delivery of them; Yet by the said Everard's means, he still detains them, contrary to all Law and Equity; and (as I am credibly inform'd,) hath sold several of them for 3 s. apiece, without my privity, consent, or order. But I am glad that my Books are not of that Seditious Disloyal strain, as those most Malignant and Invective, False and Traiterous Li­bels lately produced by this Everard, for which he now absconds, (if not already taken,) Warrants being thereupon issued out against him.

In my Narrative, I declar'd, that being in France from the year 1669, till 1675. I came to understand of a Plot design'd to be put in Execution by some of my Kings Subjects, towards the subversion of his Majesties Fundamental Laws and Government, now established; they presuming to be upheld and born out by Fo­reign assistance, as it is more amply set forth in my Narrative. These Plotters and Abettors I was always willing fully to discover, were I interrogated thereupon; For no pretence of Religion, Protestant, Papist or other, shall ever blind me so far as to conceal any Treacherous Design against my Sovereign: No, on the Word of a Christian, I hold Honesty and Loyalty the best Religion upon Earth.

As for his Royal Highness, I declare, and am ready to prove that he was alto­gether a stranger to these practices; nay, I am sure he would be the first in his Royal Person, that would hazard his life to quell and oppose such Traiterous Attempts. What Dangers has he ever declined, to give a Testimony of his Zeal and Care for His Majesties Service, and the Preservation of his Laws and Loyal Subjects. Some will Censure his Belief, though they know not their own, much less another mans Religion. Can any groundedly say him to be otherwise, than a true Catholick of the Church of England? Sure I am, he is of that temper, That he loves all honest and peaceable Christians, let them be of what Religion they will; and hates nothing more than such as have too much Religion in their Mouths, but none in their Hearts, making a Cloak thereof to carry on their own evil designs against Church and State. Let none think I write this to curry Fa­vour with his Royal Highness; no, I do but my Duty, and what I owe to the Posterity of his late Majesty of most blessed Memory, whose goodness is so deeply imprinted in my heart, that although his Royal Highness has been pleased to have an ill Opinion of me, nay, to disgrace me in publick; yet this shall never alienate or lessen my Loyalty to my King, or my Duty to his Royal Highness: And were it not wholly against my Inclinations to prove disloyal, I am sure I have met with as much provocation as ever Subject did; and all this proceeding from the Malice of Fabulous Tale-tellers, and Lying Informers.

And though it came out of his Royal Highness mouth; The Calumniating me with the Title of Informer, it was he who inculcated the same into his Highnesses head, who durst not to my Face, say or lay any thing to my Charge disadvantagi­ous; This I say and will maintain in any ground in Christendom: that whoever he was that buzz'd that ill Character of me, into his Royal Highness ear, he could be no other than a most Villanous Lying Rascal in that particular; This he perhaps may read, and will swallow: If he durst have owned to my face what he said, I would bid him kiss, (or make him,) my —

I will no longer exspatiat upon my unjust sufferances, which my Narratives gives a full Account, and in what is perfectly true.

Now I will beg your Patience, in giving you a relation of what Barbarous usage I received but this year last past, In the month of October 1679, intending to avoid the Darts of Malice, I obtained his Majesties Gracious Protection, and Pass in this and in all Kingdoms in Amity with his Majesty; whereupon having sent my Equi­page to be Embark'd at Graves-end, I went my self to take Boat at Strand-bridge, and follow it; but passing by the New-Exchange, my Coach was stopt, and I seiz'd upon by half a dozen; I askt at whose Suit I was so seized upon? they answered, at the Kings; I replyed, I was ready and willing to obey, yet was I pull'd and hall'd out of my Coach; I ask'd where I was to be carry'd? they answered, before Sir Willi­am Waller and Mr. Everard; I ask'd where were they? they answered, at the Half-Moon Tavern: Thither was I hall'd, and hundreds of People about me; There sate in State Sir William Waller, and this Edmund Everard on his left hand; I asked Sir William why I was so pull'd and halled out of my Coach? He answered, That I had got a Narrative Printed, which I could not justifie, and was then Arrested for it; I asked, what did my Narrative contain contrary to the Laws of the Land? He Answer'd, That I Printed what I could not maintain of his Royal Highness rights, and it did reflect on Mr. Everard, who was an Evidence for the King; I replyed, that I got indeed a Narrative Printed in my own Vindication, against the malicious Calumnies published by that Everard who sate by him, whose Narrative did scan­dalously reflect on me without the least appearance of Truth: and since I subscribed my name, neither Everard, nor any body else could term my Narrative a Libel, neither did I reflect on Everard, as he was the Kings Evidence, whether real or counterfeit, but as he maliciously traduced me in his Narrative, and abused my name; I farther represented, it was not seemly nor handsom in any man, that up­on the score of being an Evidence for the King, he should arrogate to himself the li­berty not only to slander and calumniate whom he pleased, but also favour and se­cure others more probably Criminal, by giving them a formal Protection under his hand, as this Everard did with good success, prevailing with several that were Evi­dences for the King to countenance this his Presumption, and Prosecute none so Protected by him: Thus one Mr. Kearney having this Everards Protection, had the opportunity to shift himself out of the Kingdom, he being at the same time charged and Proclaimed to have been one of the four Ruffians engaged to Murther his Sacred Majesty; and though I may presume, and am fully perswaded, he could not be con­cerned in so base a Design, (I knowing the person well, and partly his Education) yet is not Everard excusable, he then understanding that Mr. Kearny was nomina­ted in the Conspiracy, and yet presum'd to favour and protect him. And here I cannot but observe how preposterous a World is this, that Everards Protection [Page 4]should secure Mr. Kearny, who was sworn Guilty of High Treason; and yet the Kings Protection could not secure me, though neither Treason, Disloyalty or Fe­lony could be laid to my Charge. After my thus declaring to Everards face before Sir William Waller, yet Sir William tells me I must put in security to appear at the Kings-Bench in Westminster, otherwise the Constable should take me into his Charge, and keep me Prisoner in his own House, I told Sir William I had no security, un­less he would take the best in the Kingdom; and that I was then to take Oars im­mediately for Graves-end, to leave the Kingdom; whereupon I produced my Pass and Protection, with my Kings hand and Seal; which Sir William and Everard read, yet took no notice of it, but laughed and scoffed at it: Sir William gives the Constable charge to take me into his Custody; but the Constable seeing His Majesties Pass, tells Sir William he had no room for me in his House. Whereupon Sir William cries, Sir Robert Walsh, You are a Person of Honour, and if you will oblige your self to appear on the 6th. of this Month at the Sessions in Westminster, where Mr. Everard, and I will be to make Party against you, you shall have your liberty. To this I consented, and did accordingly give my attendance, and did appear upon the Bench at Westminster, where sate the Honourable the Lord Craven, and divers Noble Gentlemen that knew me. I attending there from Nine of the Clock till Twelve, did represent my Suf­ferings and hard usage to the Bench, and this for Publishing a Narrative, to which I did subscribe my Name, and was ready to Justifie; Sir William Waller, and Edmund Everard were called to prosecute their pretended Action against me, but neither of them appearing all that day, I was discharged by that Honourable Bench. Yet by this contrivance I sustained a greater loss than either Waller or Everard is able to repair; for the Ship in which I was to Embark, went away with my Goods and Equipage from Graves-end, and to this day I could never hear thereof; so that I lost my Pas­sage and Goods, to my great damage, leaving me to seek for remedy against Sir Wil­liam Waller, and the Worshipful (absconded) Edmund Everard, who now lurks in holes, while I am ready to appear in discharge of my Loyalty and Duty to my King and Country, and to justify what I have declared at large in my former Narrative; and so would my Manifesto's, (were they at Liberty,) do set forth.

Sir Robert Walsh his Narratives which lye seized upon, may let the World see, his Loyalty and his Honour, where and how gained and attained, which the Golden Medal at his Breast doth Witness, carrying the Effigies of His Majesty of Blessed Memory, and that of His now Glorious Majesty on the one-side, and insculped on the other side the form of his Royal Banner, used at the Battel of Edge-hill, where Sir Robert received the Dignity of his Knighthood, and hath his Majesties most Royal Hand to wear and carry the said Medal; Yet some will be dashing and carping at the said Medal, I wish they may go so far fairly to gain the like. I should not envy them.

Sir Robert Walsh, hath set forth in his Narrative, his Imprisonments for above se­ven years. The first he was by the Usurper made Prisoner in the Tower, for which he had reason.

The next was Prisoner in the Bastile, not without reason, he having served the Prince of Conde against the French King.

The third Imprisonment, he was kept Prisoner 33 months in Brussels, through the ungrounded Instigation of some, as the best of men doth know, whose Pardon or Grace Sir Robert ever did disown, and doth, if any Crime of Disloyalty ever was, is, or could be laid to his Charge.