MAY it pleaſe your Majeſty (in the day wherein you happily ſay, You now know that you are again King over your Brittiſh Iſrael) to caſt a favourable eye upon your poor Mephiboſheths now, and by reaſon of lameneſs in reſpect of diſtance, not until now appearing in your preſence, we mean New-England, kneeling with the reſt of your Subjects, before your Majeſty, as her Reſtored King. We forget not our Ineptneſs as to theſe approaches. We at preſent own ſuch Impotency, as renders us unable to excuſe our Impotency of ſpeaking unto our Lord the King: yet Contemplating ſuch a King who hath alſo ſeen Adverſity, that he knoweth the heart of Exiles, who himſelf hath been an Exile; The Aſpect of Majeſty thus extraordinarily circumſtanced, influenceth, and animateth, exanimated out-caſts (yet outcaſts as we hope for the truth) to make this Addreſs unto their Prince, hoping to finde Grace in your ſight; We preſent this Script, the Tranſcript of our Loyal hearts, into your Royal hands, wherein we crave leave:

To Supplicate your Majeſty for your Gracious Protection of us, in the continuance both of our Civil Priviledges, according to (and of our Religious Liberties, the Grauntees known end of ſuing for) the Pattent conferred upon this Plantation by your Royal Father: This, This, viz. Our Liberty to walk in the Faith of the Goſpel, with all good conſcience, according to the order of the Goſpel (unto which the former in theſe ends of the earth is but ſubſervient) was the cauſe of our tranſporting our ſelves, with our wives, little ones, and our ſubſtance, from that pleaſant Land, over the Atlantick Ocean, into this vaſt and waſte Wilderneſs: chuſing rather the pure Scripture worſhip with a good conſcience, in this poor remote Wilderneſs, amongſt the Heathens, then the pleaſures of England, with ſubjection to the Impoſition of the then ſo diſpoſed, and ſo far prevailing Hierarchy, which we could not do without an evil conſcience: For this cauſe we are at this day in a Land, which lately was not ſown, wherein we have conflicted with the ſufferings thereof much longer then Jacob was in Syria; Our Witneſs is in Heaven that we left not our Country upon any diſſatisfaction as to the conſtitution of the Civil State; Our Lot after the example of the Good Old Non Conformiſt, hath been only to Act a Paſſive part throughout theſe late Viciſſitudes and ſucceſſive Overturnings of State; Our ſeparation from our Brethren in this deſart, hath been and is a ſuffering, bringing to minde the affliction of Joſeph, but Providential exception of us thereby from the late Wars, and temptations of either party, we account as a favour from God, the former cloaths us with ſackcloath, the latter with innocency.

What Reception, Courteſie, and Aequanimity thoſe Gentlemen, and other Adherers to the Royal Intereſt in their adverſe Changes viſited theſe Parts were entertained with amongſt us, according to the meaneſs of our Conditions, we appeal to their own reports.

Touching complaints put in againſt us, our humble Requeſt only is, that for the Interim wherein we are dumb, by reaſon of abſence, Your Majeſty would permit nothing to make an Impreſſion upon your Royal heart againſt us, until we have opportunity and licenſe to anſwer for our ſelves; Few will be nocent, ſaid that Impleader, if it be enough to denie; few will be innocent, replyed the then Emperour, if it be enough to accuſe.

Concerning the Quakers, open Capital Blaſphemers, open Seducers from the Glorious Trinity, the Lords Chriſt, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the bleſſed Goſpel, and from the Holy Scriptures, as the rule of life, open enemies to Government it ſelf, as eſtabliſhed in the hands of any but men of their own Principles, Malignant and Aſſiduous Promoters of Doctrines, directly tending to ſubvert both our Churches and State: After all other means for a long time uſed in vain, we were at laſt conſtrained, for our own ſafety, to paſs a Sentence of Baniſhment againſt them upon pain of Death; ſuch was their dangerous Impetuous and deſperate Turbulency to Religion, and to the State Civil and Eccleſiaſtical, as that how unwilling ſoever, could it have been avoided, the Magiſtrate at leaſt in conſcience both to God and man, judged himſelf called for the defence of all, to keep the paſſage with the point of the ſword held toward them; this could do no harm to him that would be warned thereby, their willingly ruſhing themſelves thereupon was their own act, and we with all humility conceive a Crime bringing their bloods upon their own heads. The Quakers died not becauſe of their other Crimes how capital ſoever, but upon their ſuperadded preſumptuous and incorrigible contempt of Authority, breaking in upon us, notwithſtanding the Sentence of Baniſhment made known unto them; Had they not been reſtrained ſo far as appeared, there was too much cauſe to fear that we our ſelves muſt quickly have dyed, or worſe; and ſuch was their Inſolency that they would not be reſtrained but by Death; nay, had they at laſt but promiſed to depart the Juriſdiction, and not to return without leave from Authority, we ſhould have been glad of ſuch an opportunity to have ſaid they ſhould not dye.

Let not the King hear mens words, Your ſervants are true men, fearers of God and the King, and not given to change, zealous of Government and Order, Orthodox and peaceable in Iſrael, we are not ſeditious to the Intereſt of Caeſar, no Schiſmaticks as to the matters of Religion, we diſtinguiſh between Churches and their Impurities, between a living man, though not without ſickneſs or infirmities, and no man; irregularities either in our ſelves or others, we deſire may be amended; we could not live without the publique worſhip of God; we were not permitted the uſe of publique worſhip, without ſuch a Yoak of Subſcription and Conformity, as we could not conſent unto without ſin: That we might therefore enjoy Divine Worſhip without humane mixtures; without offence either to God or man, or our own conſciences; we with leave (but not without Tears) departed from our Country, Kindred and Fathers houſe, into this Pathmos; in relation whereunto we do not ſay, Our Garments are become old, by reaſon of the very long Journey, but that our ſelves, who came away in our ſtrength, are by reaſon of very long abſence, many of us become grey headed, and ſome of us ſtooping for age; The Omiſſion of the prementioned Injunctions, together with the walking of our Churches, as to the point of order in the Congregational way, is all wherein we differ from our Orthodox Brethren.

Sir, We lye not before your Sacred Majeſty, the Lord God of Gods, the Lord God of Gods he knoweth, and Iſrael he ſhall know, if it were in Rebellion or Schiſme that we willingly left our dwelling in our own, or continue our dwelling in the ſtrange Land, ſave us not this day.

Royal Sir, If according to our humble Petition, and good hope the God of the Spirits of all fleſh, the Father of mercies (who comforteth the Abject) ſhall make the permiſſion of the bereavement of that All, for which we have and do ſuffer the loſs of all, Precious, ſo Precious in your ſight, as that your Royal heart ſhall be inclined to ſhew unto us that kindneſs of the Lord in Your Majeſties Protection of us in theſe Liberties, for which we hither came, and which hitherto we have enjoyed upon Hezekiahs ſpeaking comfortably to us as to ſons; This Orphane ſhall not continue fatherleſs, but grow up as a revived Infant under its Nurſing Father: Theſe Churches ſhall be comforted in a door of hope opened by ſo ſignal a Pledge of the lengthening of their Tranquility; Theſe poor and naked Gentiles, not a few of whom through Grace, are come and coming in, ſhall ſtill ſee their wonted Teachers with incouragement of a more plentiful increaſe of the Kingdom of Chriſt amongſt them; and the Bleſſing of your poor afflicted (and yet we hope truſting in God) ſhall come upon the head and heart of that great King, who was ſometime an Exile as we are:

With a Religious Stipulation of our Prayers, we (Proſtrate at Your, Royal feet) beg Pardon for this our boldneſs; Craving finally that our Names may be enrouled amongſt