MATTHEW W R E N, D. D.

It was resolved then by this most judicious and politick Prince to send hisonly Son, the Heir of three Kingdoms, the dearest Offspring of a most af-fectionate, and indulgent Father, the Delight and Hope of the Royal Family,into the Territories of Spain, to trust him with a cunning and wily Nation, ofa rescrv’d Humour, of close and secret Machinations, and of which we had tillthen no other Knowledge and Experience, than what we deriv’d from itsCraftiness and Pride, and that perpetual Hatred which it bore us; and thistoo, not in the Head of an Army, not in the Midst of his naval Forces, norany such military Posture, in which the Englijh used to make their Visits intoSpain : And, in a Word, to venture Him upon their Faith and Honour, (ofwhich we had good Reason to be jealous) without other Guard, or Security,than his own princely Wisdom and Discretion.

When therefore this select Person, in so dangerous an Expedition, was be-come Chaplain, shall I fay, or Counsellor to this excellent Prince (for wherethe Power of Godliness hath once establifli’d itself, and sincere Discretionwholly seiz’d upon the Heart, there is little or no Distinction betwixt thesetwo, which amongst others keep so wide a Distance) then did he, where-soever he came, unfold the Grounds and Articles of our Religion, with that

Coll.p. 6.

Perspicuity and Clearness, maintain and defend them with that Strength andSpirit, and privately unravel all those fly and knotty Contrivances, whichsome of their most eminent Church-men had twisted to entangle the Prince' sAffairs, with so great Acuteness and Dexterity, that no other Means whatso-ever, no Artifice or Expedient could pretend to a greater Share in opening the-Avenues and Passages to his Royal Highness’$ safe Return.

To what is here intimated by Dr. Pearson, relating to the Prince's Journey Some Accountsto Spain, in Pursuit of the Match with the Infanta, it would be proper to fab-s r . on ‘ othtr *°f)oin some historical Collections from others, and Remarks on that Subject 5 * jlurlty!andwhich may seem to clear up the Myflery, as he calls it. ' Match.

" The Prince’s Journey to Spain was such a Piece of Knight-Errantry, ds Preface to" no Age can parallel, tho’ it suited, it seems, with the Prince's Genius, I ^^ worth ’ 1" that was somewhat inclinable to Adventures, as a late celebrated Author, 2lrid.

who had as much Reason to know him as any Man, tells us in his Hi-" -ft° r y °f *he Rebellion. This great Author, who hath in his Writings an equal" temperature of the Gentleman and the Historian, tells us a pretty Storyabout that Adventure to Spam^ and lays the first Oround-work thereof on" some romantick Conceits that were gotten into the steads of the Prince

" and the then Marquis of Buckingham , that upon so brave and heroick an

“ Expedition into an unknown Country, the Knight (according to the. usual" Events of Chivalry) would be sure to be too hard for the Giant of Spain,

" am ! would win and bring away she Damsel. But when by those two, this

" was broke to King fames, the Terrors and Convulsions it put the good

" old King into, were inexpressible : He perceiv’d the Precipice he was run up-" on J and (besides the Hazard of losing an only Son, and of an unavoidable" Loss and Distionour that would fall upon himself and the whole Nation, ifthe King of Spam should shew more Wit in detaining the Prince, than he" rlid in sending him) presently foresaw, that this Expedient, which those two" young Men had found out to facilitate the Match (on which that King hadbuilt all his Hopes and Expectations) would certainly, when Spain had oncetc gotten the Prince in their Hands, break it to Pieces, or cause the King tocondescend to such new but intolerable Conditions, as he himself wouldT c otherwise very hardly, but his Subjects never at all, submit to. And yet€{ p n g James, divided between those two impetuous Passions of Love and, ® ar > and wrought upon by the obsequious Demeanor of his Son on the onellnt h and the huffing and blustering Temper of Buckingham on the other

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